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williams and i was born in oklahoma city

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oklahoma hi i'm chante tucker from

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altadena california and i'm a systems

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engineer at the jet propulsion

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laboratory in pasadena my name is norman

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phelps and i currently live in orlando

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florida and i work for launch services

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program here at kennedy space center i'm

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barbara brown and i'm the chief

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technologist at the john f kennedy space

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center in florida and i've known since i

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was seven or eight years old that i

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wanted to work for nasa i'm a launch

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operations and integration engineer i am

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dr lanay quick from nasa's goddard space

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flight center i am a planetary scientist

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and i study the planets and moons in our

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solar system i am currently at nasa

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goddard space flight center working as a

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social media specialist for nasa

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universe my name is phil hargrove i'm

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from san antonio texas and i work as a

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launch vehicle trajectory analyst at the

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kennedy space center

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and my name is bree hill and i'm a

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public affairs specialist at nasa

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headquarters and also your host for

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today's episode of nasa science live we

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are thrilled for you to join us today as

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we celebrate black history month

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behind every nasa success story there

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are people who make the impossible

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possible and today not only are we

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celebrating the contributions of

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african-american trailblazers but also

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those who are following in their

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footsteps helping nasa to reach new

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heights for the benefit of all human

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kind speakers like mary jackson

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catherine johnson gangnam guilford

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ray jemison have paved the way for

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generations of african americans in stem

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careers and while they may have been the

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first they certainly won't be the last

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while speaking of the next generation of

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blacks and stems we are here with deja

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williams a jpl engineer educator and

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creator thank you so much for joining us

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today jj

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hey bree thanks for having me i'm happy

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to be here

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deja please tell us what you do and what

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inspired you to become an engineer

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so i'm an industrial engineer i'm

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working with our training center to

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create a safer process to train our

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technicians throughout the cobit 19

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pandemic

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and what inspired me to be an engineer

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was it initially it started with a

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conversation with my mom she asked me

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what i wanted to be when i grew up

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and she led me down the path of

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engineering and i've always had a knack

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for

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learning how things worked and i was

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just always curious about the world

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around me um so here i am

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so what does an industrial engineer do

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and what made you pursue that field

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good question um so an industrial

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engineer is someone who looks at complex

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processes and tries to optimize it or

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make it more efficient

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um the reason i went down this path is

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because i'm a people person

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and industrial engineering allows you to

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to dip your toe in both engineering and

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the business world so i get an

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overarching understanding of how things

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are built and the difficulty that comes

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with it but i'm also looking at how can

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we make this the fastest way possible

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how can we make it um how can we not

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overspend and you be resourceful um so i

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i love

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being the middle person in between those

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two areas

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okay well thank you for that but um the

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word on the internet is you were doing

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some pretty cool outreach can you tell

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me a little bit about that

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yes bree so i rap about math and science

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um i want to create a more fun and

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relatable learning experience for

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students

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so i so

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i'm making dope music about stem topics

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energy and force mathematics studying

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the big bang

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i'm observing something and it may be

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nothing the hypothesis could change the

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game okay

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[Music]

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okay

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[Music]

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okay so

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where were you when i was in school and

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needed math mentorship thank you for

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doing this for the kids

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what motivates you

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work outside of your job

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um

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so growing up math and science classes

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were

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very hard for me but as i grew in the

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field i realized it was less about the

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challenges that were presented it was

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more so the languages that it was being

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taught to me in um i couldn't

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necessarily understand all of the words

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that they were using because

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i wasn't always taught by people who

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understood me or had the same background

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as me so i'm trying to build

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build that bridge where i'm creating

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more relatable

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now we know that diverse representation

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in stem is important can you tell us why

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um diverse representation is important

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because of opportunity

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it's not about forcing everybody to go

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into a stem career but it's important

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that people know that it's an actual

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option

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a lot of times i'm telling folks where i

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work and what i do and sometimes people

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don't even know what nasa is i feel that

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everybody should have an opportunity to

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experience uh launches to experience the

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wonders of space exploration so that's

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why diversity is important

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well that is wonderful

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now we know many of you at home have

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questions to ask and we would love for

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you to join the conversation please do

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not hesitate to send your questions by

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writing in the comment box wherever

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you're streaming

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and by using the hashtag ask nasa on

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social media

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deja will be answering all of your

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questions at the end of the show so

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please stay tuned deja we will see you

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in a bit

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all right

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just like

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deja we have many amazing people working

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across the agency 24 7 to help us

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achieve things beyond the imagination

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like getting to mars

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let's head over to muja gay cooper a jpl

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scientist who is helping to protect mars

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from earth's bacteria when the nasa

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perseverance rover lands on the red

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planet on february 18th let's take a

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look

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it's really important that we send a

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rover that's clean and we make sure that

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it doesn't contaminate mars my name is

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muji gay stricker and i protect mars

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from earth bacteria the next mars rover

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is slated to go to mars collect samples

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so that eventually we can bring those

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samples back to earth and determine for

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the very first time did life exist on

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mars there's nothing that we can build

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that's sterile so we take swabs and

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wipes of the spacecraft as it's being

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built it gets put in an oven it gets put

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in various chambers and clean rooms so

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that we can maintain that level of

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cleanliness if we do find something on

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mars we have to make sure and that

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actually came from ours and not

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something that hitched a ride this is

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the place where the magic happens oh

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it's definitely fun in this lab we look

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specifically at spores floors are those

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hearty microorganisms that can actually

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survive if it made it on the spacecraft

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of the journey through space through the

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vacuum it's very humbling to be a part

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of this big project because there are

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hundreds of people that have to come

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together and no one person that could

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say i did this i made this happen it's

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always a we i owe it all to carl sagan

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and watching the cosmos i remember being

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a little kid going to the public library

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and renting that vhs and from that

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moment the light bulb turned on it

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actually was a start of my passion of

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science communication we are citizens of

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our universe we have to be good

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ambassadors when we are exploring and

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its other moons so it's the right thing

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we are now joined by dr charles norton

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associate chief technologist at jpl and

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former special advisor for small

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satellite missions at nasa headquarters

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charles thank you for joining us today

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oh thanks so much free it's really great

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to see you

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tell us a little bit about yourself and

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what made you become interested in

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science and space

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yes well really bri i see myself as a

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product of the space age i'm actually

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originally from long island new york

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my mother there was a mathematics

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teacher

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but my dad actually worked on the lunar

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excursion module at burman aerospace and

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bethpage

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so even though sadly he passed away not

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long after i was born

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i'm sure they both had a big influence

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on my

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decision to study uh science engineering

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and and go into this field

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that's fantastic now before you were the

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chief technologist i understand you were

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the special advisor for small satellite

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missions can you explain what that means

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yes exactly so uh i spent a couple of

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years at nasa headquarters and in that

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role i was really responsible for

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helping the agency

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understand and look at how small

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satellites could provide an innovative

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approach towards discovery in earth

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astrophysics heliophysics and planetary

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science as well as the role that small

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satellites could have to impact

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technology development and these small

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satellites they're really quite amazing

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you know they can be as small as one

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kilogram and 10 centimeters on the sod

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them in your hand

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others can actually be the size of a

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small refrigerator and they they really

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are a disruptive innovation that are

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allowing us to increase our science

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return the diversity of missions that we

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can perform uh the rate and speed at

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which we can develop and launch and fly

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these missions also spurring our

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community think about new observation

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techniques which can help improve

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our understanding of not just earth but

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now how can the use of small satellites

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give more people including african

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americans access to more

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um to learn more about their planet and

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yeah that's a great question well you

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know these small satellites really

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started out in universities as a

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training mechanism to help students and

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others learn about space and how to

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develop these missions to a hands-on

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approach

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and again so you know one of the

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important ways in which these small

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satellites address that question is

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they're helping to democratize space

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really nearly anyone now um

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at the university or at other

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institutions can participate

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in developing these missions advancing

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our knowledge of of the planets and

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space and the world around us

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and you know the community of people

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that are developing these small missions

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are really just very welcoming and

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supportive and we're always looking to

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grow

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the not just the number of missions but

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also the number and variety and

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can you share why representation in the

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stem field is so important in the black

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it really is very important you know i

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really see it as another avenue to sort

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of showcase the

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wealth and

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imagination and creativity that the

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african-american community has you know

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we've seen this in other areas through

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music and art and dance and poetry

300
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so really it's just essential

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for the broad community now to see the

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contributions african-americans are

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making and have made uh both in the past

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and present and now that you know we're

305
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recognizing and celebrating these

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contributions more directly it's really

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having a positive impact in growing our

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presence in stem

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so it's you know i'm just really proud

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to be a part of the community and help

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charles thank you so much for your

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insights

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we will be right back with both charles

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and deja to answer your questions at

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home remember to join the conversation

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ask your questions using

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ask nasa in the comment box anywhere on

318
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social media but before we answer your

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questions let's meet renee horton an

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00:13:04,310 --> 00:13:00,480
engineer at nasa's michoud assembly

321
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facility in new orleans renee is making

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00:13:09,509 --> 00:13:06,639
history preparing astronauts for their

323
00:13:11,590 --> 00:13:09,519
first journey to the moon

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we all want to go back to the moon

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getting us back to the moon in this

326
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generation sparks a whole new generation

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of explorers hi my name is dr k renee

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horton and i am boots on the ground for

329
00:13:27,750 --> 00:13:25,680
sls we actually weld our liquid hydrogen

330
00:13:29,670 --> 00:13:27,760
tanks and our liquid oxygen tanks on

331
00:13:31,670 --> 00:13:29,680
this it is the largest well tool in the

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world it's the only one of its kind it

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00:13:37,990 --> 00:13:34,800
stays 170 feet tall and has a diameter

334
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of about 27.6 feet so as a quality

335
00:13:40,629 --> 00:13:39,440
engineer we make sure that they're

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actually meeting the requirements

337
00:13:44,230 --> 00:13:42,079
they're supposed to meet they do a

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phased array ultrasound which goes in

339
00:13:48,150 --> 00:13:45,600
and checks to make sure we don't have

340
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any defects in the weld to get up and to

341
00:13:51,990 --> 00:13:49,680
pull up the news article and they're

342
00:13:54,310 --> 00:13:52,000
talking about what you do at work is

343
00:13:56,389 --> 00:13:54,320
amazing for me i really love detective

344
00:13:57,750 --> 00:13:56,399
novels and so i'm an avid reader and i

345
00:14:00,230 --> 00:13:57,760
actually write children's book in my

346
00:14:02,629 --> 00:14:00,240
spare time my children's books are about

347
00:14:04,710 --> 00:14:02,639
dr h exploring the universe

348
00:14:05,990 --> 00:14:04,720
each day i walk into the factory i know

349
00:14:07,829 --> 00:14:06,000
that i'm putting my footprints in

350
00:14:11,910 --> 00:14:07,839
history and that's a pretty big deal for

351
00:14:16,629 --> 00:14:14,069
as you've seen there are many people

352
00:14:18,550 --> 00:14:16,639
working on amazing things here at nasa

353
00:14:19,910 --> 00:14:18,560
but for those watching at home who may

354
00:14:22,550 --> 00:14:19,920
want to be a part of all of this

355
00:14:24,870 --> 00:14:22,560
excitement how do they get here charles

356
00:14:26,550 --> 00:14:24,880
and deja what would you say to someone

357
00:14:28,710 --> 00:14:26,560
who may be interested in following in

358
00:14:30,949 --> 00:14:28,720
your footsteps what kind of advice would

359
00:14:33,030 --> 00:14:30,959
you offer charles why don't i start with

360
00:14:36,230 --> 00:14:33,040
you do you have anything to

361
00:14:40,629 --> 00:14:39,110
yes brie i think uh from my experience i

362
00:14:42,629 --> 00:14:40,639
think it's really important to build

363
00:14:44,150 --> 00:14:42,639
meaningful connections with colleagues

364
00:14:45,430 --> 00:14:44,160
there's so much that people can learn

365
00:14:47,910 --> 00:14:45,440
from each other

366
00:14:50,230 --> 00:14:47,920
and for individuals to always be willing

367
00:14:51,430 --> 00:14:50,240
to share their expertise and their

368
00:14:53,189 --> 00:14:51,440
knowledge and

369
00:14:54,949 --> 00:14:53,199
and of course you know these days you

370
00:14:57,189 --> 00:14:54,959
know oral and written communication

371
00:14:59,030 --> 00:14:57,199
skills are so important in communicating

372
00:15:01,269 --> 00:14:59,040
and conveying your ideas

373
00:15:05,030 --> 00:15:01,279
you know it's an important strength to

374
00:15:08,310 --> 00:15:05,040
uh to continuously develop

375
00:15:11,030 --> 00:15:08,320
and deja do you have any thoughts to add

376
00:15:12,949 --> 00:15:11,040
yes so my advice is to just go for it

377
00:15:15,430 --> 00:15:12,959
don't be afraid or back down from

378
00:15:17,509 --> 00:15:15,440
challenges know that you belong in their

379
00:15:21,990 --> 00:15:17,519
space for you in any place that you want

380
00:15:25,990 --> 00:15:24,069
thank you guys so much for this advice

381
00:15:29,430 --> 00:15:26,000
and now we have some words of wisdom

382
00:15:32,150 --> 00:15:29,440
from people all across nasa

383
00:15:34,310 --> 00:15:32,160
my advice to anyone who wants to pursue

384
00:15:36,790 --> 00:15:34,320
a career in stem be curious about the

385
00:15:38,710 --> 00:15:36,800
world around you never give up believe

386
00:15:41,749 --> 00:15:38,720
you can do anything you want to do work

387
00:15:43,509 --> 00:15:41,759
hard work hard perseverance is the key

388
00:15:45,110 --> 00:15:43,519
be willing to put in the time and effort

389
00:15:46,790 --> 00:15:45,120
that it takes to get the knowledge and

390
00:15:48,470 --> 00:15:46,800
training that you need make sure you

391
00:15:50,790 --> 00:15:48,480
always put your best foot forward do the

392
00:15:52,790 --> 00:15:50,800
very best to find your own path find a

393
00:15:54,710 --> 00:15:52,800
mentor asking questions whenever you

394
00:15:56,230 --> 00:15:54,720
have them they give great advice it

395
00:15:57,590 --> 00:15:56,240
might not always be advice that you want

396
00:16:00,629 --> 00:15:57,600
to hear but you know it's for your own

397
00:16:03,030 --> 00:16:00,639
good don't let anyone distract you from

398
00:16:06,230 --> 00:16:03,040
doing the very best you can to meet your

399
00:16:09,030 --> 00:16:06,240
goals in life don't be afraid to try and

400
00:16:11,670 --> 00:16:09,040
fail sometimes but if you fail

401
00:16:14,069 --> 00:16:11,680
learn from it and use that knowledge to

402
00:16:16,310 --> 00:16:14,079
find the path to success i would not be

403
00:16:18,470 --> 00:16:16,320
where i am today if it wasn't for having

404
00:16:20,470 --> 00:16:18,480
such great mentoring beginning in high

405
00:16:23,350 --> 00:16:20,480
school and and going on throughout

406
00:16:25,350 --> 00:16:23,360
graduate school and and obtaining my phd

407
00:16:27,430 --> 00:16:25,360
and continuing to challenge yourself

408
00:16:29,269 --> 00:16:27,440
take a lot of math and science and to

409
00:16:31,189 --> 00:16:29,279
find ways to integrate math and science

410
00:16:33,110 --> 00:16:31,199
in your everyday play time in your

411
00:16:35,430 --> 00:16:33,120
adventures and in your extracurricular

412
00:16:37,990 --> 00:16:35,440
activities seek out those opportunities

413
00:16:39,990 --> 00:16:38,000
that will lead you along this path and

414
00:16:42,230 --> 00:16:40,000
never give up on your dream pursue their

415
00:16:44,790 --> 00:16:42,240
dreams go for that dream of yours dream

416
00:16:51,350 --> 00:16:44,800
dream big and act on it and hopefully

417
00:16:54,710 --> 00:16:53,590
so let's jump into our ask nasa

418
00:16:59,110 --> 00:16:54,720
questions

419
00:17:02,230 --> 00:16:59,120
our first question is from xxgamer519xx

420
00:17:04,630 --> 00:17:02,240
on youtube he asks what advice would you

421
00:17:05,909 --> 00:17:04,640
give to those aspiring to work at nasa

422
00:17:09,909 --> 00:17:05,919
one day

423
00:17:14,630 --> 00:17:12,230
yeah so i think for those that are

424
00:17:16,949 --> 00:17:14,640
looking to work at nasa you know there

425
00:17:19,270 --> 00:17:16,959
are many internship opportunities that

426
00:17:22,150 --> 00:17:19,280
are available across the agency

427
00:17:23,750 --> 00:17:22,160
so my advice would be that's a great

428
00:17:25,990 --> 00:17:23,760
first step to

429
00:17:29,110 --> 00:17:26,000
understand the agency and for the agency

430
00:17:31,430 --> 00:17:29,120
to understand you and to find a good way

431
00:17:34,630 --> 00:17:31,440
of having a match with your interests

432
00:17:36,549 --> 00:17:34,640
and knows of the agency

433
00:17:39,830 --> 00:17:36,559
in deja do you have any advice to give

434
00:17:42,630 --> 00:17:39,840
xxx gamer519x

435
00:17:45,750 --> 00:17:42,640
yes uh i agree with what was just said i

436
00:17:49,270 --> 00:17:45,760
was personally an intern first at

437
00:17:52,230 --> 00:17:49,280
nasa jpl so that is very true um but

438
00:17:54,789 --> 00:17:52,240
before i got that internship um my

439
00:17:57,270 --> 00:17:54,799
beginning years in college i made sure i

440
00:17:59,750 --> 00:17:57,280
got a lot of experience before

441
00:18:02,230 --> 00:17:59,760
you know i even submitted so i wanted to

442
00:18:05,110 --> 00:18:02,240
be prepared for the opportunity so do

443
00:18:07,029 --> 00:18:05,120
whatever you can do to to gain

444
00:18:08,470 --> 00:18:07,039
experience in in the field that you want

445
00:18:10,549 --> 00:18:08,480
to so

446
00:18:12,310 --> 00:18:10,559
create your own projects go into the

447
00:18:14,390 --> 00:18:12,320
classes that are talking about or

448
00:18:17,909 --> 00:18:14,400
teaching about the the field that you

449
00:18:22,390 --> 00:18:19,190
thank you

450
00:18:27,350 --> 00:18:22,400
angela on facebook asks how can i join

451
00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:31,190
charles do you have a suggestion

452
00:18:37,350 --> 00:18:33,750
oh sure well of course you know um there

453
00:18:40,390 --> 00:18:37,360
are many ways uh one way is to be

454
00:18:42,070 --> 00:18:40,400
employed by nasa and then uh

455
00:18:43,590 --> 00:18:42,080
identifying a project of interest that

456
00:18:46,630 --> 00:18:43,600
you want to work with

457
00:18:48,549 --> 00:18:46,640
but i would say equally important uh if

458
00:18:53,029 --> 00:18:48,559
you happen to be at a university or

459
00:18:55,350 --> 00:18:53,039
maybe even at a company would be to

460
00:18:58,070 --> 00:18:55,360
seek out the principal investigator for

461
00:19:01,029 --> 00:18:58,080
a mission or many of their key team

462
00:19:03,190 --> 00:19:01,039
members and just communicate your

463
00:19:05,270 --> 00:19:03,200
interests and your background

464
00:19:07,190 --> 00:19:05,280
and i'm sure in many

465
00:19:09,110 --> 00:19:07,200
mechanisms in many ways

466
00:19:12,470 --> 00:19:09,120
they could find an appropriate way to

467
00:19:15,270 --> 00:19:12,480
help you contribute to the mission

468
00:19:18,630 --> 00:19:15,280
and deja how about your answer

469
00:19:21,190 --> 00:19:18,640
yes so at my university we have multiple

470
00:19:23,510 --> 00:19:21,200
teams that that work on extra curricular

471
00:19:26,549 --> 00:19:23,520
activities where we're submitting

472
00:19:29,669 --> 00:19:26,559
proposals and examples for different

473
00:19:31,750 --> 00:19:29,679
missions that we have going on so um i

474
00:19:34,710 --> 00:19:31,760
know that we have a mars rover team at

475
00:19:36,549 --> 00:19:34,720
my school and and different

476
00:19:38,310 --> 00:19:36,559
projects like that that could get you

477
00:19:39,430 --> 00:19:38,320
you know working on nasa things before

478
00:19:43,350 --> 00:19:39,440
you actually

479
00:19:48,390 --> 00:19:45,590
marianne on facebook asks what can

480
00:19:51,029 --> 00:19:48,400
members of the non-um

481
00:19:53,029 --> 00:19:51,039
black indigenous peace people of color

482
00:19:55,510 --> 00:19:53,039
community asks to do

483
00:19:58,070 --> 00:19:55,520
to address inequality in industries of

484
00:20:03,110 --> 00:19:58,080
science and technology like nasa as

485
00:20:10,070 --> 00:20:04,830
um

486
00:20:11,510 --> 00:20:10,080
found

487
00:20:13,590 --> 00:20:11,520
uh

488
00:20:16,149 --> 00:20:13,600
i found it when

489
00:20:19,110 --> 00:20:16,159
i am coming in contact with you know

490
00:20:20,870 --> 00:20:19,120
people who are not black and they are

491
00:20:22,070 --> 00:20:20,880
they are welcoming

492
00:20:23,909 --> 00:20:22,080
in class

493
00:20:26,070 --> 00:20:23,919
that's that's super important they're

494
00:20:28,149 --> 00:20:26,080
welcoming when i come into work that's

495
00:20:29,510 --> 00:20:28,159
super important um you have those

496
00:20:32,870 --> 00:20:29,520
conversations let me know what

497
00:20:34,310 --> 00:20:32,880
opportunities are coming up um i feel

498
00:20:36,230 --> 00:20:34,320
like a lot of times there's a secret

499
00:20:38,230 --> 00:20:36,240
society when it comes to stem

500
00:20:40,310 --> 00:20:38,240
opportunities and just making those

501
00:20:41,990 --> 00:20:40,320
opportunities widespread and known to

502
00:20:43,750 --> 00:20:42,000
all communities i think would be very

503
00:20:47,190 --> 00:20:43,760
helpful

504
00:20:52,710 --> 00:20:49,669
yeah i would agree with deja i mean i

505
00:20:56,070 --> 00:20:52,720
know that uh we both have been parts of

506
00:20:58,070 --> 00:20:56,080
societies like nsbe national society of

507
00:21:01,830 --> 00:20:58,080
black engineers but there are also other

508
00:21:03,510 --> 00:21:01,840
technical societies for many different

509
00:21:05,669 --> 00:21:03,520
ethnic groups and there are

510
00:21:08,710 --> 00:21:05,679
professionals in those organizations

511
00:21:10,070 --> 00:21:08,720
that can certainly act as mentors and

512
00:21:12,789 --> 00:21:10,080
help

513
00:21:14,230 --> 00:21:12,799
you reach that stepping stone of getting

514
00:21:17,750 --> 00:21:14,240
involved

515
00:21:19,430 --> 00:21:17,760
with a nasa project or or even not even

516
00:21:21,029 --> 00:21:19,440
emission but sometimes even the research

517
00:21:24,470 --> 00:21:21,039
and the scientists that come along with

518
00:21:26,630 --> 00:21:24,480
the data analysis so i would definitely

519
00:21:29,990 --> 00:21:26,640
work through the community

520
00:21:32,950 --> 00:21:30,000
of these organizations

521
00:21:34,789 --> 00:21:32,960
now this question is for deja

522
00:21:36,630 --> 00:21:34,799
misty on facebook asks

523
00:21:38,950 --> 00:21:36,640
females are still a minority in most

524
00:21:41,430 --> 00:21:38,960
stem fields what would you tell young

525
00:21:43,990 --> 00:21:41,440
ladies today about stem fields in order

526
00:21:45,190 --> 00:21:44,000
to build their interests

527
00:21:46,070 --> 00:21:45,200
hmm

528
00:21:48,870 --> 00:21:46,080
um

529
00:21:51,190 --> 00:21:48,880
just don't be afraid i i grew up playing

530
00:21:53,990 --> 00:21:51,200
basketball which is a male dominated

531
00:21:54,870 --> 00:21:54,000
field so

532
00:21:57,029 --> 00:21:54,880
go

533
00:21:58,549 --> 00:21:57,039
don't be don't be afraid don't sit in

534
00:22:01,190 --> 00:21:58,559
the back of the class sit in the front

535
00:22:03,510 --> 00:22:01,200
of the class ask those questions you you

536
00:22:05,350 --> 00:22:03,520
belong there um you may not know the

537
00:22:06,549 --> 00:22:05,360
answer don't don't feel like you're not

538
00:22:07,990 --> 00:22:06,559
smart

539
00:22:09,510 --> 00:22:08,000
if you have the question i'm sure a

540
00:22:11,430 --> 00:22:09,520
bunch of other people in the in the

541
00:22:13,029 --> 00:22:11,440
class have that question as well so

542
00:22:14,390 --> 00:22:13,039
knowing that you belong and having that

543
00:22:16,470 --> 00:22:14,400
confidence

544
00:22:19,590 --> 00:22:16,480
i think it will get all of us women

545
00:22:23,190 --> 00:22:21,830
um so i have a question from cesare

546
00:22:26,310 --> 00:22:23,200
arasaki

547
00:22:33,190 --> 00:22:26,320
on youtube they ask can anyone who is

548
00:22:39,190 --> 00:22:34,950
the answer is yes

549
00:22:46,549 --> 00:22:42,630
so of course yes

550
00:22:49,430 --> 00:22:46,559
okay so our next question is john

551
00:22:51,909 --> 00:22:49,440
i'm sorry one more time

552
00:22:53,990 --> 00:22:51,919
yeah i mean i've had uh undergraduate

553
00:22:55,350 --> 00:22:54,000
students myself i've even had high

554
00:22:58,549 --> 00:22:55,360
school students

555
00:22:59,590 --> 00:22:58,559
uh that i've mentored over the years

556
00:23:01,190 --> 00:22:59,600
and uh

557
00:23:03,990 --> 00:23:01,200
you know many of them have gone on to

558
00:23:05,909 --> 00:23:04,000
become professors at universities and

559
00:23:08,870 --> 00:23:05,919
and have gone on to other institutions

560
00:23:10,870 --> 00:23:08,880
so it's it's uh definitely possible

561
00:23:12,870 --> 00:23:10,880
there are many uh ways to apply for

562
00:23:13,909 --> 00:23:12,880
those roles

563
00:23:16,470 --> 00:23:13,919
awesome

564
00:23:19,350 --> 00:23:16,480
um now desean from facebook asks what's

565
00:23:21,510 --> 00:23:19,360
the best advice to give future nasa

566
00:23:23,750 --> 00:23:21,520
employees when they are struggling and

567
00:23:26,470 --> 00:23:23,760
on when they are struggling and how can

568
00:23:34,470 --> 00:23:26,480
that employee or employees succeed in

569
00:23:39,270 --> 00:23:37,110
we can go to days your days are started

570
00:23:41,669 --> 00:23:39,280
well my answer would be one thing i did

571
00:23:43,029 --> 00:23:41,679
as a new employee is if i if i found

572
00:23:45,269 --> 00:23:43,039
someone who was doing something

573
00:23:47,430 --> 00:23:45,279
interesting or even just someone sitting

574
00:23:49,269 --> 00:23:47,440
and eating lunch i would ask them to

575
00:23:51,190 --> 00:23:49,279
have asked to have lunch with them and i

576
00:23:53,909 --> 00:23:51,200
get to sit there and have a 30 minute

577
00:23:55,990 --> 00:23:53,919
intro to what they were doing um and

578
00:23:58,230 --> 00:23:56,000
that is how i've been able to grow in my

579
00:23:59,110 --> 00:23:58,240
careers learning about what's out there

580
00:24:01,190 --> 00:23:59,120
and

581
00:24:04,390 --> 00:24:01,200
just getting a little taste of

582
00:24:07,510 --> 00:24:04,400
people's experiences

583
00:24:13,909 --> 00:24:10,630
oh deja is exactly right i mean um i

584
00:24:16,710 --> 00:24:13,919
found over my career at nasa that

585
00:24:19,190 --> 00:24:16,720
you know literally any question you have

586
00:24:22,230 --> 00:24:19,200
can be answered it doesn't have to even

587
00:24:23,350 --> 00:24:22,240
be science related you know there's so

588
00:24:26,070 --> 00:24:23,360
much

589
00:24:30,070 --> 00:24:26,080
curiosity in this community

590
00:24:31,750 --> 00:24:30,080
that you know one could very easily

591
00:24:33,350 --> 00:24:31,760
get to

592
00:24:36,149 --> 00:24:33,360
understand better how they can

593
00:24:38,310 --> 00:24:36,159
contribute to the agency's mission um

594
00:24:40,390 --> 00:24:38,320
and should never be concerned about that

595
00:24:43,190 --> 00:24:40,400
if they have um any struggles or

596
00:24:45,430 --> 00:24:43,200
difficulties by just simply reaching out

597
00:24:47,430 --> 00:24:45,440
and talking with your colleagues and it

598
00:24:50,230 --> 00:24:47,440
could be about any subject

599
00:24:52,390 --> 00:24:50,240
people are just very warm and welcoming

600
00:24:56,710 --> 00:24:52,400
here

601
00:24:58,630 --> 00:24:56,720
specific moment or event that pushed you

602
00:25:03,110 --> 00:24:58,640
in the direction of pursuing your career

603
00:25:05,669 --> 00:25:03,120
at nasa and deja can i start with you

604
00:25:07,990 --> 00:25:05,679
yes so what pushed me

605
00:25:10,149 --> 00:25:08,000
uh into this career was actually being a

606
00:25:13,269 --> 00:25:10,159
part of the national society of black

607
00:25:15,029 --> 00:25:13,279
engineers um before being a part of this

608
00:25:18,310 --> 00:25:15,039
organization i didn't know that looking

609
00:25:20,630 --> 00:25:18,320
at nasa's apo was even possible

610
00:25:23,110 --> 00:25:20,640
but going to the conferences and seeing

611
00:25:24,870 --> 00:25:23,120
that there are opportunities available

612
00:25:28,950 --> 00:25:24,880
that's what kind of pushed me to make

613
00:25:31,909 --> 00:25:28,960
this a goal to work at nasa

614
00:25:35,750 --> 00:25:33,750
yeah i'm probably dating myself a little

615
00:25:37,990 --> 00:25:35,760
bit it was a little bit by accident but

616
00:25:40,310 --> 00:25:38,000
i remember when the netscape navigator

617
00:25:42,470 --> 00:25:40,320
browser was first released one of the

618
00:25:45,430 --> 00:25:42,480
first internet browsers and i was

619
00:25:47,750 --> 00:25:45,440
looking for an opportunity to do work in

620
00:25:49,990 --> 00:25:47,760
high performance computing and nasa at

621
00:25:52,870 --> 00:25:50,000
the time had super computers that were

622
00:25:54,310 --> 00:25:52,880
among the top 500 fastest in the world

623
00:25:57,110 --> 00:25:54,320
so i did a

624
00:25:59,430 --> 00:25:57,120
search long before google was invented

625
00:26:02,470 --> 00:25:59,440
and uh found it was an opportunity to

626
00:26:03,830 --> 00:26:02,480
work uh with jpl and you know i had

627
00:26:05,669 --> 00:26:03,840
planned to actually only spend a few

628
00:26:08,230 --> 00:26:05,679
years at the lab

629
00:26:09,590 --> 00:26:08,240
and then go ahead and look to become a

630
00:26:12,870 --> 00:26:09,600
professor

631
00:26:15,029 --> 00:26:12,880
but i'm still at jpl and enjoying it so

632
00:26:17,350 --> 00:26:15,039
maybe i'll pursue that in retirement

633
00:26:19,350 --> 00:26:17,360
someday

634
00:26:21,669 --> 00:26:19,360
well that is all the time we have for

635
00:26:26,070 --> 00:26:21,679
questions today thank you so much for

636
00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:29,590
absolutely thank you

637
00:26:34,630 --> 00:26:31,669
and many thanks to all of you who joined

638
00:26:36,549 --> 00:26:34,640
us from home if you would like to learn

639
00:26:39,269 --> 00:26:36,559
more about some of the amazing people

640
00:26:41,669 --> 00:26:39,279
featured in today's episode please visit

641
00:26:43,190 --> 00:26:41,679
go.nasa.gov

642
00:26:45,510 --> 00:26:43,200
forward slash

643
00:26:47,590 --> 00:26:45,520
black history month thank you for

644
00:26:49,830 --> 00:26:47,600
joining today's episode and see you next

645
00:27:20,510 --> 00:26:49,840
time

646
00:27:26,870 --> 00:27:26,760
[Music]

647
00:27:41,029 --> 00:27:26,880
[Applause]

648
00:27:43,140 --> 00:27:42,600
so

649
00:28:01,620 --> 00:27:43,150
[Applause]