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i'm bantu i'm the ldsd

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int test manager at the jet propulsion

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laboratory my lifelong goal was always

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space and you know being part of a

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mission that would perform some sort

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deep space exploration and so that's

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where i decided

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to go to nasa i am on the ldsd project

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the low density supersonic decelerator

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project i manage the integration and

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test team which basically puts the

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vehicle together integrates it tests it

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and makes sure that we meet all the

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requirements validate all the

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requirements verify them we're testing

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technologies for future missions to mars

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trying to land bigger and better

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payloads to mars

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we've flown one last year we'll fly one

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this year and one next year as well so i

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currently plan on being the integration

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test manager also for next year

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i was born in vietnam

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but ethnically

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chinese in the sense that my folks my

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grandparents immigrated from china

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and we had a

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more of a

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chinese upbringing versus a vietnamese

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upbringing and i actually left vietnam

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when i was about five years old so you

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can say i'm nationally i'm more american

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than anything else

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i think being an immigrant i think that

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was the biggest challenge for myself and

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my folks now i'm coming from vietnam i

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don't think they spoke very much english

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my father he was the only job he could

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take was a farm worker and my mother was

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a waitress at the time too they felt the

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education was the the path forward

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the upbringing that i had was other than

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working and making money it was just

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making sure you had a good education and

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able to contribute to the community

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working away from you know

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minimum wage or below minimum wage to

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where i am now i think it's something

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incredible you know that you can only do