When I started working at NASA, I still didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. On my very first day, I was barely 16 years old. I was part of a high school summer internship program – my first job ever! Everything was so exciting – even filling out tax forms! I remember getting my program folder that held my assignment: the Procurement Division. Then I remember sheepishly asking, “what exactly is that?” I was taken to meet all of the people I would be working with that summer. Until then adults were always “Mr. or Ms. So and So”. Everyone was being introduced by their first name and I got so nervous because I didn’t know how I was going to address them! During my first week, I was asked to call the grants office at MIT to get some information from the office so their grant money could be processed. All I could think was, “I don’t even know how to drive a car. I’m supposed to call one of the most famous universities in the world and help them?” I very quickly learned that at NASA, even at 16, I was treated as a peer and respected professionally. It was a powerful lesson! Everyone believed in me and wanted me to succeed. I did call MIT, and I did help them. As the summer progressed, it was easy to see everyone as co-workers and friends, rather than “grown-ups”. My confidence in myself grew as I was given more and more responsibility. By my second summer I identified my own project and was given the freedom to plan and execute it. I did 4 summer and 2 winter break rotations; the maximum I was allowed. At the end of my 4th summer, the director of the division asked if I would consider changing my major from history to business so he could hire me as a co-op and eventually a full-time employee. It was difficult, but I knew I had to turn him down. As much as I loved NASA and adored the people I worked with, my interest didn’t lie in business. I knew I had to follow my heart, be true to myself and trust that if NASA was where I was meant to be, it would be!

History had always been my favorite subject and I knew that I wanted a career that somehow involved that. I thought maybe I would work in a museum or for the park service. The last two years of college I worked in the university archives and was hooked! I decided I would pursue a master’s degree in Library Science at the University of Maryland and become an archivist. When I got to Library School, I learned about the related field of records and information management. After the first semester I started looking for a summer job back home in Cleveland. And guess who was looking for a co-op in the field of archives and records management? If you guessed NASA – you’d be right. The odds of this job coming up when I was looking are about slim to none. Blessed. That’s me! So, I did something bold. I called the person who would be the position mentor and flat out said, “I am the only person in the world who can do this job.” Following my heart 3 years earlier had paid off. Being at NASA was meant to be! Keep reading →