Success Stories

Click here to read previous success stories

Extraordinary Experience - Ric Alba
April 2007

My experience as an intern at the NASA Ames Research Center has been extraordinary. I find that the confidence placed in me by my fellow team members/mentors has served as an inspiration to me to approach my responsibilities with an attitude of giving my maximum effort. I attribute this to the trust which is continually afforded me and the knowledge that my work is a small part of a collective effort to accomplish a very complex and challenging goal: that is, to continue to refine our ability to live in environments other than the one we find here on earth.

Next quarter, as an intern here at NASA, I have been asked to continue in my effort to assist in the design and manufacture of experimental components for exploration vehicle and space habitat waste collection, compaction and storage systems. Pretty neat, wouldn't you say?


The Most Fulfilling Job - Melissalynn Perkins
April 2007

There I was, one fall day, looking at a poster that said I could have a job at NASA!!! "How exciting," I thought to myself. Then I saw that it was an internship and wasn't sure if I could do something that I didn't get paid for. I called the number listed and to my surprise, not only was the internship paid, but at a better rate than I could get in most other part-time jobs, and I knew that they would be flexible with my school schedule since it was a joint project between my school and NASA. I would have never imagined that I would be sitting here almost a year and a half later, completely in love with my job. What I like the most about the internship is the experience that I have gained in the professional work setting and the friends that I have made in the office. I work in a real office with career professionals, people who have been doing their job for 10, 15, or 20 years and are still happy to work here. I have made great networking connections, learned a lot about time management, increased my ability to do more tasks while keeping within the necessary time frame, and I have learned in depth about my work style and what sorts of jobs I would be interested in as a long-term career. I have also learned how to handle the responsibility of an "adult" job. For all the reasons mentioned above and many more, this is the most professionally and personally fulfilling job that I have had.