WEBVTT 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:04.040 Welcome to today's webinar event Career 00:00:04.040 --> 00:00:09.400 Pathways, at NASA with our three subject matter experts 00:00:09.440 --> 00:00:12.960 Sara Schmidt, Juliane Gross, and Trevor Graff. 00:00:13.280 --> 00:00:14.600 We are, in a sense, 00:00:14.600 --> 00:00:18.560 broadcasting from the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. 00:00:18.720 --> 00:00:22.960 Some of us may be in various locations where we're presenting from. 00:00:23.040 --> 00:00:28.280 But we're all part of the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science. 00:00:28.280 --> 00:00:33.560 or ARES, Division at the NASA Johnson Space Center again here in Houston, Texas. 00:00:34.080 --> 00:00:38.760 We're so excited to have registrants from 29 states 00:00:38.760 --> 00:00:42.760 across the United States and 13 additional countries. 00:00:42.920 --> 00:00:48.360 So all of you out there, maybe you see yourselves somewhere on this map. 00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:53.760 We're so excited to have, whether you're a college student, an interested adult, 00:00:53.880 --> 00:00:57.840 a high school student, an elementary or middle school student. 00:00:58.040 --> 00:01:02.000 We welcome all of you to our webinar today. 00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:04.400 But we're especially thankful, 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:07.800 and I really want to take a moment to welcome our three speakers. 00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:11.520 These three individuals are very, 00:01:11.520 --> 00:01:14.520 very busy with the work that they do every day. 00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:18.280 But for them, it was important to be able to share 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:22.440 their pathway to their career at NASA so that you 00:01:22.440 --> 00:01:27.240 those of you out there that are perhaps thinking about pursuing a STEM career, 00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:31.880 you can have an idea of how these folks got to do 00:01:31.960 --> 00:01:36.760 and got to be in the place that they are today in their current careers. 00:01:36.880 --> 00:01:38.600 Perhaps you'll find it diverse. 00:01:38.600 --> 00:01:41.600 Perhaps you'll find it somewhat, 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:45.000 connecting to some of your own experiences. 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:48.200 But we really hope that you will enjoy our three 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:51.440 speakers as they share their career pathways. 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:56.640 So with that short little welcome, and I'm going to turn things over to Sara 00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:01.000 so that Sara, you can lead us off with sharing your career pathway. 00:02:01.160 --> 00:02:02.200 Over to you. 00:02:02.200 --> 00:02:04.800 I am Sara Schmidt. 00:02:04.800 --> 00:02:09.440 I work in the Crew Earth Observations Payload Team, 00:02:09.440 --> 00:02:14.400 which is an International Space Station, science project. 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:19.320 And then we're transitioning into the Crew Lunar Observation. 00:02:19.320 --> 00:02:22.200 So dipping my fingers into the to the lunar front, 00:02:22.200 --> 00:02:26.240 as someone who's been working on Earth side things for a while. 00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:31.080 So in my background, I was born and raised in Houston, so southwest 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:36.160 Houston area purple stars are kind of where I've lived in major areas at least. 00:02:37.240 --> 00:02:38.400 Was raised by my 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:41.440 mom and my grandparents, and I'm the oldest of three. 00:02:41.440 --> 00:02:44.440 So my brother and then my sister is the youngest. 00:02:44.600 --> 00:02:46.840 There's a picture of me at Space Center Houston. 00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:49.840 Growing up in Houston, it was something we did pretty much every summer. 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:53.280 That's my grandma taking me there back in the 90s. 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:57.000 I enjoy traveling. 00:02:57.240 --> 00:02:59.240 Mostly traveling to be outside. 00:02:59.240 --> 00:03:04.560 So national parks and hiking and some of my other interests are like Sims. 00:03:04.760 --> 00:03:07.000 I love playing Sims, 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:11.280 baking, cooking, my dog Piper, and then crafting, especially with my friends. 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:15.240 So, so in my younger years, I've always loved arts and crafts 00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:19.520 and I've played a lot of soccer, and, was on the swim team throughout, 00:03:20.640 --> 00:03:23.280 elementary school through high school. 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:27.080 And as far as, like education and school, I did 00:03:27.080 --> 00:03:28.680 okay. I mean, I made good grades. 00:03:28.680 --> 00:03:32.520 I wasn't specifically into any subjects. 00:03:33.760 --> 00:03:34.920 I learned I was good at math, 00:03:34.920 --> 00:03:39.720 but I didn't really take any honors courses or dual credit courses, though 00:03:39.720 --> 00:03:42.840 looking back, probably would have been a good idea to do. 00:03:44.640 --> 00:03:44.920 Yeah. 00:03:44.920 --> 00:03:46.560 So these are some photos of me 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:50.120 just growing up in my younger years, a lot are at my grandparents’ house. 00:03:50.160 --> 00:03:52.600 We spent a lot of our time over there. 00:03:52.600 --> 00:03:57.960 My mom had an at home daycare, from my age of three to like college years. 00:03:57.960 --> 00:03:59.680 So it was always really loud. 00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:01.280 So we would do all of our homework over there. 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:05.360 And I didn't really have an idea of what I wanted to do when I grew up. 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:08.360 I just knew I wanted to go to college, 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:13.520 and be successful, but I didn't really have 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:17.360 like a specific goal or a career goal in mind that way. 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:19.200 But I did graduate high school, 00:04:20.520 --> 00:04:21.800 and I saw all 00:04:21.800 --> 00:04:25.600 of my friends parents were accountants, and they all made a lot of money. 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:26.640 So I said, you know what? 00:04:26.640 --> 00:04:28.720 I'm pretty good at math. I'll give that a try. 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:34.280 So I started at Stephen F Austin State University in an accounting program. 00:04:34.280 --> 00:04:36.760 Learned pretty quickly it was not for me. 00:04:36.760 --> 00:04:38.560 And that's okay. 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:42.120 So I ended up moving home and I left. 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:46.040 So I left Stephen F Austin and I had been working a couple of part time jobs 00:04:46.040 --> 00:04:49.440 here and there, and when I left, I took on 00:04:49.440 --> 00:04:52.440 being the full time manager at, 00:04:53.160 --> 00:04:54.720 I don't really know if they're still around anymore, but 00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:57.960 it's like the fruit bouquet place, called Edible Arrangements. 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:02.960 And so I was full time manager at 19 and then also going to, 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:04.680 community college 00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:08.120 at local Wharton County Junior College. 00:05:08.440 --> 00:05:12.280 I am happy that I came home and went to Wharton instead. 00:05:12.720 --> 00:05:17.040 SFA and just general universities were really expensive. 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:20.160 So looking back, I'm really glad that I decided to come home. 00:05:20.320 --> 00:05:22.000 It was a little scary at first. 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:26.320 All my friends were going to Texas A&M, and I was taking 00:05:26.760 --> 00:05:29.760 what I felt like was a step back to go to a community college. 00:05:30.280 --> 00:05:35.400 But that is actually where I met some of my best professors. 00:05:35.640 --> 00:05:39.480 Within this time period, I found out that I really liked science, and 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:45.160 especially outside, so I decided meteorology might be a good idea. 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:49.200 I was accepted into Texas A&M meteorology program. 00:05:49.200 --> 00:05:51.400 I was super excited to start. 00:05:51.400 --> 00:05:53.720 Unfortunately, my FAFSA fell through so 00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:57.840 I was unable to attend just due to finances. 00:05:58.320 --> 00:06:00.240 So big heartbreak. 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:03.480 But I continued at Wharton County Junior College and I'm glad I did 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:06.160 because I met my professor, Ms. 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:09.960 Wosu, who was my chemistry professor, and she made it a good point 00:06:09.960 --> 00:06:14.240 of bringing in all of her students one on one, at least throughout the year. 00:06:14.880 --> 00:06:17.800 And I told her what happened with A&M 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:22.360 and she was the first person to be like, you're really good at this. 00:06:22.360 --> 00:06:23.400 Like, you're good at science. 00:06:23.400 --> 00:06:25.520 You need to pursue this. I believe in you. 00:06:25.520 --> 00:06:28.880 And that was really the first time I’d heard that, so super inspirational to me. 00:06:29.080 --> 00:06:33.000 And I wouldn't have had that push if I wasn't at that community college. 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:37.240 So she recommended that I look into the University of Houston. 00:06:38.640 --> 00:06:39.160 They have an 00:06:39.160 --> 00:06:42.280 environmental science program with the focus of atmospheric science. 00:06:43.080 --> 00:06:44.960 So I said, okay, that's my new goal. 00:06:44.960 --> 00:06:48.920 I'm going to get into U of H, but first, I'm going to transfer as many credits 00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:51.920 as I can because U of H classes are like twice as expensive. 00:06:52.320 --> 00:06:55.160 So I took as many classes as I could. 00:06:55.160 --> 00:07:00.280 at Wharton, and I transferred over to Houston Community College. 00:07:00.280 --> 00:07:02.440 I also got a second job and I also got my dog. 00:07:02.440 --> 00:07:05.160 So that was a big year! 00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:09.080 At HCC, we had a physics professor who said, 00:07:09.840 --> 00:07:13.640 if you go to this specific seminar, I'll give you extra credit, 00:07:13.640 --> 00:07:15.200 and I always take extra credit 00:07:15.200 --> 00:07:18.200 because I feel like it's a nice cushion to have just in case. 00:07:18.200 --> 00:07:21.840 So I went and it was a seminar 00:07:21.840 --> 00:07:25.960 about NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars. 00:07:25.960 --> 00:07:30.520 It's essentially an online class and a paper where, 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:32.800 I think if they like your paper, 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:37.160 you get selected to do a four day workshop at one of the NASA centers. 00:07:37.160 --> 00:07:40.480 So I was selected and attended that workshop. 00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:46.440 There's a picture of little, little Sara in 2016 wearing someone's 00:07:46.440 --> 00:07:49.440 borrowed shirt because she didn't own professional clothing yet. 00:07:49.440 --> 00:07:53.160 It was the first time I really met people who I felt like I fit in with. 00:07:53.160 --> 00:07:56.440 So it's got a little yellow star here, because it was one of those moments 00:07:56.440 --> 00:07:58.440 that were just really solidifying that. 00:07:58.440 --> 00:08:01.280 I'm on. You know, science might be the right thing for me. 00:08:01.280 --> 00:08:01.800 It was really great. 00:08:01.800 --> 00:08:07.720 And then I enrolled in the environmental science program, just like Ms. 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:09.920 Wosu had suggested. 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:13.680 At the University of Houston, I met another professor 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:17.640 who was just really encouraging, and he offered me a 00:08:18.280 --> 00:08:21.640 part time internship that summer, which I never felt like 00:08:21.640 --> 00:08:26.240 I was able to take internships just because I needed to work. 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:31.200 And I was unable to take a break from work to have those internship opportunities. 00:08:31.200 --> 00:08:34.200 So this was something I could do remotely. 00:08:35.480 --> 00:08:36.480 Meet with him once a week. 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:39.480 And I was very thankful he was able to do that. 00:08:39.640 --> 00:08:43.480 And, he just kept encouraging me that I was on the right path, 00:08:43.480 --> 00:08:46.480 that it was really great. 00:08:46.520 --> 00:08:48.520 A little bit of a hard year because all of my friends 00:08:48.520 --> 00:08:52.520 had actually graduated, from college that year. 00:08:52.520 --> 00:08:56.080 So 2017, I went to a lot of celebrations for my friends. 00:08:56.080 --> 00:09:01.200 I was happy for them, but knew that I was having to do another year. 00:09:01.880 --> 00:09:07.800 So year five, 2018, I graduated from U of H with my Bachelor of Science 00:09:07.800 --> 00:09:12.040 and Environmental Science focused on atmospheric science and a minor in math. 00:09:12.040 --> 00:09:15.400 First generation college graduate, so neither of my parents went to college. 00:09:15.800 --> 00:09:18.720 My main goal was to get the degree. 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:21.880 I wanted to make sure I had more opportunities, 00:09:23.040 --> 00:09:25.080 in my career than my parents did. 00:09:25.080 --> 00:09:30.120 And so between graduating college and starting at NASA, 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:32.520 I applied for like 60 jobs. 00:09:32.520 --> 00:09:37.120 I recently found my tracking spreadsheet and I considered it 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:40.320 almost my part time job because I was still working 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:44.440 at Revolution Studio, the a fitness studio in the area. 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:48.480 I was team lead but was still looking for my my career. 00:09:48.760 --> 00:09:50.080 2019 I landed it. 00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:51.320 My last day at the fitness 00:09:51.320 --> 00:09:54.800 studio was March 3rd, and my first day at NASA was March 4th. 00:09:54.800 --> 00:09:56.160 So I took zero days off. 00:09:56.160 --> 00:09:59.360 But I started to do some really cool stuff. 00:09:59.800 --> 00:10:05.000 I joined the Crew Earth Observations Payload team, which is the, 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:09.520 International Space Station handheld photography of Earth from space. 00:10:09.520 --> 00:10:14.360 So for different science, education, and disaster response requests. 00:10:15.080 --> 00:10:17.240 Also traveled a lot that year for conferences. 00:10:17.240 --> 00:10:18.680 I learned so much. 00:10:18.680 --> 00:10:21.680 This was the first year that I took a plane. 00:10:22.400 --> 00:10:23.920 I was terrified, so, 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:26.320 took a plane for the first time. 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:29.160 So a lot of firsts in 2019. 00:10:29.160 --> 00:10:33.320 It was a lot of learning how to do not only the job, 00:10:33.640 --> 00:10:38.400 but how to be a professional, and a young professional at the time 00:10:38.760 --> 00:10:43.200 and still kind of, I really struggled with, anxiety and public speaking. 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:46.480 So back then, even speaking in front of like four of my colleagues, 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:50.520 I would get choked up just from fear. And, 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:54.120 also, you know, I didn't really know how to be an adult yet. 00:10:54.120 --> 00:10:57.120 I had only graduated the year before. 00:10:57.480 --> 00:11:00.600 And so because I kept doing all of these different things, 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:03.600 that scared me and it kept pushing me in the right direction, 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:06.000 I decided, okay, I'm going to be a yes person. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:09.440 I'm going to say yes to opportunities, whether I'm sure about them or not, 00:11:09.920 --> 00:11:13.080 because so far it has really worked out. 00:11:13.160 --> 00:11:16.480 2020 we are all working from home, which actually 00:11:16.560 --> 00:11:20.400 really nice to be able to let me be able to learn and be comfortable 00:11:20.400 --> 00:11:25.280 and growing into a young professional without people directly watching me. 00:11:25.800 --> 00:11:28.560 So that was a good takeaway from 2020. 00:11:28.560 --> 00:11:30.960 I also enrolled in grad school, 00:11:32.160 --> 00:11:33.920 Work, my 00:11:33.920 --> 00:11:37.560 contract that I'm on, helps, has a reimbursement program 00:11:37.560 --> 00:11:42.360 which has the main reason I was able to be able to go to graduate school. 00:11:42.360 --> 00:11:44.000 I moved into my first apartment. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:47.960 So this whole time I was living with my mom and siblings still. 00:11:47.960 --> 00:11:51.520 So the next year we were back into traveling around. 00:11:51.520 --> 00:11:54.520 I started, I took over the payload. 00:11:54.880 --> 00:11:58.040 So the Crew Earth Observations Payload as the lead. 00:11:58.040 --> 00:12:01.040 And I also became our group's project manager. 00:12:01.280 --> 00:12:06.200 And I included all of the jobs leading up to this because I really feel 00:12:06.200 --> 00:12:09.200 like customer service and management and lead roles 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:15.440 just at these part time and semi-full time jobs really helped me 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:21.240 be able to lead a team including like at NASA in my role now 00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:25.920 and then in 2023 just more travel and representation for station. 00:12:25.920 --> 00:12:28.000 That brings us to nowish. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:32.160 So last year, I graduated from Oregon State 00:12:32.160 --> 00:12:36.480 University with my Masters of science in Environmental Science. 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:39.160 I completed it mostly online. 00:12:39.160 --> 00:12:42.120 I did fly up to Oregon to, 00:12:43.560 --> 00:12:45.000 get my degree. 00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:48.360 And so now I'm a first time college graduate, 00:12:49.080 --> 00:12:53.560 first generation college graduate, for masters and bachelors. 00:12:53.560 --> 00:12:56.160 Semi-related my brother got his degree this year as well. 00:12:56.160 --> 00:12:57.120 So I'm really proud of him. 00:12:57.120 --> 00:13:00.520 2025 this year 00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:05.680 I have a lot of firsts because I started working on the Artemis program. 00:13:05.680 --> 00:13:09.640 So this is the one I started learning a lot more about the Moon. 00:13:09.640 --> 00:13:11.800 I've got an Earth based background. 00:13:11.800 --> 00:13:16.480 And really, this year Artemis has just exploded with work. 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:19.920 I'm still working some, International Space Station items, 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:25.120 but 2025 opened doors to things that I would have never even imagined. 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:28.200 Like, I think back to, 00:13:28.560 --> 00:13:30.240 elementary school, when you have to dress up 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:32.280 for what you have to, like, want to be when you grow up. 00:13:32.280 --> 00:13:34.480 But I never really knew I can. 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:36.560 I couldn't have imagined I'd be doing this. 00:13:36.560 --> 00:13:39.720 And I feel like saying yes to things that make me uncomfortable has 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:42.360 led me here, because I'm a lot more comfortable now. 00:13:43.560 --> 00:13:46.440 I am now leading a team. 00:13:46.440 --> 00:13:49.440 And the top left photo, there's four of us. 00:13:50.760 --> 00:13:53.880 We're leading the team for the Crew Lunar Observations, 00:13:53.880 --> 00:13:57.600 where we're developing a software that the astronauts will use 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:00.600 as they do their lunar flyby during the Artemis mission. 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:04.000 So they'll, it'll capture their, the crew's observations 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:05.200 as they go around the Moon. 00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:10.360 And also, I am giving crew trainings and participating in tests. 00:14:11.040 --> 00:14:13.680 I also gave an interview, 00:14:13.680 --> 00:14:17.080 this was just last week, to different media. 00:14:17.320 --> 00:14:20.520 And even though I'm still kind of scared of public 00:14:20.520 --> 00:14:23.600 speaking, I keep doing it because I'm going to get more comfortable. 00:14:23.880 --> 00:14:26.640 I was very sweaty afterwards, but it was it was a lot of fun 00:14:26.640 --> 00:14:29.840 and I can only imagine what's going to. 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:32.160 Well, actually, I can imagine what's going to happen next, 00:14:32.160 --> 00:14:33.520 because I feel like I keep 00:14:33.520 --> 00:14:36.720 getting opportunities that I would have never even dreamed of. 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:38.760 And it wouldn’t be without these folks, 00:14:40.120 --> 00:14:42.200 all of these and including my dog, 00:14:42.200 --> 00:14:46.080 all of these people have helped either push me along, or 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:49.480 you know, my grandparents fed me cookies while I studied at their house. 00:14:50.520 --> 00:14:53.560 All of my colleagues, which continue to push me as well. 00:14:53.560 --> 00:14:56.600 It's been amazing to to work with our team. 00:14:56.600 --> 00:15:00.840 And I know I've been working with, Juliane and Trevor a lot more, 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:04.000 so really looking forward to what their presentations 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:07.000 are like today and getting to know their background a little more. 00:15:07.560 --> 00:15:10.680 So thank you all for calling in today. 00:15:10.680 --> 00:15:12.480 I'm going to pass it over to Juliane. 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:15.480 Thank you Sara. And that was really great. 00:15:15.560 --> 00:15:17.160 My name is Juliane Gross. 00:15:17.160 --> 00:15:21.440 I'm the Artemis Sample Curation lead here at NASA Johnson Space Center. 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:25.240 I'm in the Astromaterials, Research, Exploration 00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:28.280 and Science Division, and I'm in the Curation office. 00:15:28.280 --> 00:15:31.280 That's the office that takes care of all the extraterrestrial 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:34.920 materials and rocks. 00:15:34.920 --> 00:15:36.520 So I'll talk to you a little bit 00:15:36.520 --> 00:15:39.520 about how I got here. 00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:43.320 Just as a sort of quick introduction, before I go 00:15:43.320 --> 00:15:45.600 into what I'm going to show you. 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:48.120 I really like being outdoors. 00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:51.120 Like, that includes rock climbing, hiking, running. 00:15:51.320 --> 00:15:55.480 I like, similar to Sara, doing arts and crafts, specifically painting and drawing. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:59.120 I like eating, specifically ice cream and cookies 00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:03.320 and chocolate, actually, and I love, love, love traveling. 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:06.320 I'm a big sister. 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:07.680 I am a professor. 00:16:07.680 --> 00:16:11.880 I was a professor, and I'm a planetary scientist, and, now I work for NASA. 00:16:12.880 --> 00:16:15.880 So I'll talk to you how I got there. 00:16:16.640 --> 00:16:19.640 And in my now copious free time, 00:16:19.920 --> 00:16:24.000 I study how planets form and evolve through space and time. 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:27.240 So what I'm going to show you at the bottom of each slide 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:30.120 is sort of like a timeline, which is kind of like my career path. 00:16:31.680 --> 00:16:34.200 And I'm also going to show you a world map, 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:37.320 because you might at this point have noticed that I have an accent, 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:41.520 and that is because I was born and grew up in Germany. 00:16:42.440 --> 00:16:46.200 And so you can see the little star, that is where Germany 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:49.560 is and the city called Essen, which is where I was born. 00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:53.000 So you can see some pictures of me being a baby here. 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:55.800 I was always, a troublemaker. 00:16:55.800 --> 00:16:57.200 I like to explore. 00:16:57.200 --> 00:16:58.200 This is how I put it. 00:16:58.200 --> 00:17:00.240 It's not how my parents put it. 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:02.640 And I like to, during my explorations, 00:17:02.640 --> 00:17:05.640 making messes and then try to blame it on other people. 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:09.160 Didn't really work out. 00:17:09.160 --> 00:17:12.680 Once I became a big sister, though, it did work out. 00:17:13.280 --> 00:17:17.120 So I wasn't so sure about becoming a big sister. 00:17:17.120 --> 00:17:18.480 That seemed odd to me. 00:17:19.560 --> 00:17:21.400 Didn't always get along with my sisters. 00:17:21.400 --> 00:17:23.360 Now I do, but not in the beginning. 00:17:23.360 --> 00:17:26.360 So that was a little bit challenging. 00:17:26.520 --> 00:17:29.760 I went to preschool for three years in Germany, 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:36.080 and then elementary school, which is grades one through four in Germany. 00:17:36.080 --> 00:17:39.920 So the German education system is slightly different than the one in the US. 00:17:40.600 --> 00:17:41.280 In Germany, 00:17:41.280 --> 00:17:45.480 when you go to elementary school on your first day, you get a school cone. 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:48.760 You can see the red cone in my hand and that is filled 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:52.080 with chocolates and cookies, and candy. 00:17:52.360 --> 00:17:56.760 So when you go and you sit, in class on your first day, you have, 00:17:57.960 --> 00:18:00.000 candy to share and make friends. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:02.200 That will make the first day a little bit better. 00:18:02.200 --> 00:18:05.200 I still was pretty terrified of my first day of school 00:18:07.040 --> 00:18:08.080 after elementary in 00:18:08.080 --> 00:18:12.000 school in Germany, you go immediately to high school. 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:16.600 Oh, while I was in elementary school, I wanted to become a farmer. 00:18:16.800 --> 00:18:19.440 Just to be very clear, that was my chosen career path. 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:21.320 Being a farmer. 00:18:21.320 --> 00:18:23.840 Then I went to high school. 00:18:23.840 --> 00:18:24.720 High school in Germany. 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:28.120 It's nine years long, so that's grades five through 13. 00:18:28.120 --> 00:18:31.120 So in Germany you actually go to school for 13 years. 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:34.800 When I started high school, 00:18:34.800 --> 00:18:37.800 I decided farmer is not going to be a great career choice. 00:18:37.800 --> 00:18:40.800 I would wanted to be an astronaut instead. 00:18:41.120 --> 00:18:43.320 But while I was in high school for those nine years, 00:18:43.320 --> 00:18:44.880 I learned how to play the piano. 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:48.560 I did some drama classes, so I decided later 00:18:48.560 --> 00:18:51.560 I wanted to be a performer instead. 00:18:51.960 --> 00:18:53.280 But similar to Sara, 00:18:53.280 --> 00:18:56.600 it turns out I really don't didn't at that point like public speaking. 00:18:57.200 --> 00:19:01.240 So I joined a rowing club because I was like, maybe I can be an athlete. 00:19:02.920 --> 00:19:06.000 I am in that picture, the fourth person. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:09.960 So you can see how the oars of the boat align except mine. 00:19:10.280 --> 00:19:12.640 So I was a terrible athlete. 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:13.480 That didn't work out. 00:19:13.480 --> 00:19:16.960 So I decided to become an inventor instead. 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:23.040 But unlike Sara, I was a terrible student. 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:25.920 I really didn't like school. 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:28.160 I was bullied a lot. 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:29.560 I was not very good at it. 00:19:29.560 --> 00:19:32.560 So you can see a picture of my mom here controlling my homework. 00:19:33.080 --> 00:19:35.400 I really did, like high school, I really didn't. 00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:36.800 I struggled a lot. 00:19:36.800 --> 00:19:39.760 I was terrible at learning languages. 00:19:39.760 --> 00:19:42.960 In Germany, we started learning English in grade five 00:19:43.400 --> 00:19:46.400 and then ideally all the way through grade 13. 00:19:46.440 --> 00:19:49.280 I was so bad at English 00:19:49.280 --> 00:19:52.360 that I decided to get rid of it and learn Spanish instead. 00:19:53.760 --> 00:19:55.320 So when I 00:19:55.320 --> 00:19:58.440 finished high school, I had no idea what I wanted to be. 00:19:58.600 --> 00:20:02.640 So you can see there's a little question mark on my career path. 00:20:03.360 --> 00:20:06.200 I also realized that at the end of high school, 00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:09.400 I did not know how to learn how to speak a foreign language, 00:20:09.400 --> 00:20:12.760 and I realized that speaking English is actually really important. 00:20:13.320 --> 00:20:16.320 So I took all my courage together, 00:20:16.680 --> 00:20:19.680 and applied for a program, 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:21.800 and moved to the United States. 00:20:21.800 --> 00:20:23.400 And I became an au pair, 00:20:23.400 --> 00:20:27.360 which is a fancy word for an international nanny for a year. 00:20:27.360 --> 00:20:28.760 It's a year long program. 00:20:28.760 --> 00:20:31.680 So I moved to Boston and I took care of three children. 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:34.680 You can see me squeeze out here in the back. 00:20:35.120 --> 00:20:38.000 Between those three kids, the other two in white 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:41.320 were not my kids, but I was also taking care of them once in a while. 00:20:43.160 --> 00:20:44.880 So I learned how to speak English, 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:48.720 but it was more like kids English rather than grown up English. 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:50.880 And it turned out if you hang out with your German friends 00:20:50.880 --> 00:20:53.880 who are also au pairs, you don't really learn English that well. 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:57.320 During that time period, I really enjoyed taking care of children, 00:20:57.320 --> 00:21:00.320 so I decided that I should become a pediatrician. 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:05.320 And, when I flew back to Germany, I signed up for the university 00:21:05.800 --> 00:21:10.320 and I walked in to sign up for my major, and I decided to do chemistry 00:21:10.920 --> 00:21:13.920 instead because why not? 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:18.040 I just, you know, I wasn't sure about the pediatrician 00:21:18.040 --> 00:21:20.400 I had in my ear that everybody always said 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:23.520 I was such a bad student, and becoming a doctor seemed like 00:21:23.520 --> 00:21:27.280 you needed to be a really smart person, and I was convinced that I was not. 00:21:27.600 --> 00:21:29.200 So I signed up for chemistry. 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:30.680 I had that in high school. 00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:32.440 I was like, decent at it. 00:21:32.440 --> 00:21:33.600 So you can see me in the lab. 00:21:33.600 --> 00:21:38.000 We had a lot of fun, but I realized, fairly quickly 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:43.640 after like a year, that it's not really I didn't really like it. 00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:45.960 In order to get through 00:21:45.960 --> 00:21:49.040 to the chemistry department, I had to walk through the geology department. 00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:52.400 And so I saw a lot of pictures from the geology department, 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:54.400 and they traveled all over the world. 00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:57.240 And I really, really like traveling and being outdoors. 00:21:57.240 --> 00:22:01.480 So I decided to switch majors and to sign up for geology 00:22:01.800 --> 00:22:04.680 with a minor in astronomy. 00:22:04.680 --> 00:22:05.840 And I really liked it. 00:22:05.840 --> 00:22:07.400 I was a lot outdoors. 00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:09.800 We try to figure out how the world works. 00:22:09.800 --> 00:22:10.400 Right. 00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:13.400 So you can see me here with my friends in the field with geology hammers. 00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:15.680 I got to explore which what I like. 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:16.720 We did a lot of caving. 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:20.760 Exploring, caves that had not been explored before we measured. 00:22:20.760 --> 00:22:23.520 I got to go hiking and like, rock collecting a lot. 00:22:23.520 --> 00:22:26.080 We did a lot of field trips all over the world. 00:22:26.080 --> 00:22:29.640 We went to Chile, to Argentina, to South Africa, to Namibia, 00:22:30.080 --> 00:22:34.200 like, all over Europe to collect rocks, and study them. 00:22:34.200 --> 00:22:35.840 So I really, really liked it. 00:22:35.840 --> 00:22:40.360 But I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted to do with that degree. 00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:43.160 So there's another question mark. 00:22:43.160 --> 00:22:46.080 So I decided after undergraduate to take a year off 00:22:46.080 --> 00:22:51.040 and figure things out, and, I moved to Australia because why not? 00:22:52.080 --> 00:22:54.720 They have a program called Working Holiday Visa. 00:22:54.720 --> 00:22:55.680 So I applied for that. 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:57.920 And that means you can travel around for a year. 00:22:57.920 --> 00:22:59.200 And while you travel, 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:03.440 you can work at different places for no more than three months at a time, 00:23:04.080 --> 00:23:07.440 earn money, spent the money in the in the country and then travel around. 00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:09.560 So this is the route that I traveled. 00:23:09.560 --> 00:23:10.160 Took a year. 00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:13.160 Turns out Australia's really, really, really big 00:23:13.280 --> 00:23:16.760 and my first job was working in a meat factory. 00:23:17.400 --> 00:23:18.640 Turns out I didn't like that. 00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:21.640 I did not like dealing with bloody and dead animals. 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:24.320 So now I actually don't eat meat anymore. 00:23:24.320 --> 00:23:25.480 That was a lesson learned. 00:23:25.480 --> 00:23:29.680 I then worked at a watermelon farm, so that's outdoors. 00:23:29.680 --> 00:23:30.360 I thought, well, 00:23:30.360 --> 00:23:33.640 I always wanted to be a farmer, so maybe watermelon farmer is a thing. 00:23:34.600 --> 00:23:36.560 That's a really, really hard job. 00:23:36.560 --> 00:23:38.040 Like, yes, you are outdoors. 00:23:38.040 --> 00:23:39.240 You grow a lot of muscles 00:23:39.240 --> 00:23:42.240 because turning out picking watermelons is really physically 00:23:42.800 --> 00:23:43.960 heavy and you're growing muscles. 00:23:43.960 --> 00:23:47.760 But it's not something that I felt like I wanted to do for the rest of my life. 00:23:48.440 --> 00:23:52.200 So then my third job that I had was in a corporate firm in Sydney, 00:23:53.080 --> 00:23:57.240 where I was helping that firm convince other people to give money. 00:23:57.600 --> 00:24:00.600 I was like a lot of wearing suits. 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:02.360 And I didn't fit in. 00:24:02.360 --> 00:24:04.240 I didn't I really didn't like that. 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:08.280 So I still, after that year was unsure. 00:24:10.080 --> 00:24:13.320 So I went back to Germany and, decided to go 00:24:13.320 --> 00:24:16.480 to grad school instead in geology, because I really like geology. 00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:18.720 And being outdoors. 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:21.720 But I decided that I should try something else in geology. 00:24:21.720 --> 00:24:25.680 And so I decided to do grad school in experimental science, meaning 00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:28.800 instead of being outdoors collecting rocks and study them, I'm 00:24:28.800 --> 00:24:32.840 going to do experiments inside a lab because I have not done that before. 00:24:33.720 --> 00:24:38.080 So I was studying Earth, in the lab with experiments and how things, 00:24:38.560 --> 00:24:42.200 dissolve in water and, like, recrystallize and how things deform. 00:24:42.760 --> 00:24:45.560 And grad school in Germany is three years long. 00:24:45.560 --> 00:24:48.080 So I got my degree in experimental geology. 00:24:49.840 --> 00:24:50.960 I liked it. 00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:54.000 I liked being in the lab, but I didn't like it that much. 00:24:54.600 --> 00:24:57.880 So I was pretty distraught because I was like, man, 00:24:57.880 --> 00:25:01.200 I'm doing all these things and I can't figure out what I want. 00:25:01.560 --> 00:25:04.280 So while I was in grad school, I came across. 00:25:04.280 --> 00:25:06.360 So there's another question mark, right? 00:25:06.360 --> 00:25:07.920 For the career path. 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:10.400 I came across a job application 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:13.840 in the United States looking at, Moon rocks, 00:25:13.840 --> 00:25:16.840 extraterrestrial materials in English. 00:25:16.840 --> 00:25:18.800 And I was like, you know what? 00:25:18.800 --> 00:25:22.680 I only know child English, so I might as well practice writing an application. 00:25:22.680 --> 00:25:24.040 This sounds really fun. 00:25:24.040 --> 00:25:26.640 I've never had a planetary class in my life. 00:25:26.640 --> 00:25:29.600 I don't know anything about the Moon, but you know what? 00:25:29.600 --> 00:25:31.160 I have nothing to lose. 00:25:31.160 --> 00:25:33.400 Let me apply for it. So I wrote an application. 00:25:34.440 --> 00:25:35.160 I send it in. 00:25:35.160 --> 00:25:37.440 They invited me over, 00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:39.840 so I could, like, check it out and they could interview me. 00:25:39.840 --> 00:25:45.040 And then, little did I know, six months later, they gave me the job. 00:25:45.600 --> 00:25:48.600 So now I have to say goodbye to all of my friends, 00:25:49.400 --> 00:25:51.800 and all of my family, and move to Houston, 00:25:51.800 --> 00:25:54.800 Texas on a visa. 00:25:55.240 --> 00:25:58.000 So now, instead of studying the Earth, suddenly 00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:01.800 I had to switch and study rocks from Mars and the Moon. 00:26:02.320 --> 00:26:07.000 So to completely learn everything new, I didn't know anything about it. 00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:10.040 That was really hard, but it was also really fun. 00:26:10.040 --> 00:26:14.160 I learned that I love studying extraterrestrial rocks. 00:26:14.600 --> 00:26:16.320 It's like being a space detective. 00:26:16.320 --> 00:26:17.600 I wanted to know where they're from. 00:26:17.600 --> 00:26:19.680 I wanted to know the stories that they're containing, 00:26:19.680 --> 00:26:23.840 the secrets that they're holding, and I really like doing that type of research. 00:26:24.360 --> 00:26:29.160 So at this point, it took me 29 years to figure out what I like. 00:26:31.480 --> 00:26:33.840 So I always say, great. 00:26:33.840 --> 00:26:36.440 It looks like research is what I really enjoy. 00:26:36.440 --> 00:26:38.520 So I want to become a research scientist. 00:26:38.520 --> 00:26:42.560 So I looked for other positions because a postdoc position is only two years long. 00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:46.440 And I applied to a couple and I got hired, 00:26:46.440 --> 00:26:51.360 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City as a research scientist. 00:26:51.600 --> 00:26:54.120 So it's really thrilled. 00:26:54.120 --> 00:26:57.240 But similar to Sara, I was terrified of public speaking. 00:26:58.200 --> 00:27:01.680 So I also have, similar to Sara, said yes to all the different invitations 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:05.760 that came in to give talks and presentations. 00:27:06.560 --> 00:27:09.320 And so I traveled a lot to a lot of different universities 00:27:09.320 --> 00:27:13.080 in that area to give talks about my research. 00:27:13.320 --> 00:27:16.560 I learned how to do public outreach at the museum 00:27:17.360 --> 00:27:19.240 and talk to the public about that. 00:27:19.240 --> 00:27:23.080 And then after three and a half, three and a half years at the American Museum 00:27:23.080 --> 00:27:26.120 of Natural History, I got a phone call from Rutgers University 00:27:26.120 --> 00:27:29.120 and they said, hey, we really like the talk that you gave. 00:27:29.200 --> 00:27:32.200 We have a position opening up as a professor. 00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:34.240 Would you like to apply for it? 00:27:35.480 --> 00:27:36.480 But I didn't really want to 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:38.640 be a professor, so that's a big question mark. 00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:41.400 Should I apply for this? Should I not apply for this? 00:27:41.400 --> 00:27:46.200 But I've always been a person who would jump at different opportunities even. 00:27:46.200 --> 00:27:49.280 But I'm scared at it because usually it leads to something fun. 00:27:49.720 --> 00:27:51.600 So I decided I apply for it. 00:27:51.600 --> 00:27:52.520 I have nothing to lose. 00:27:52.520 --> 00:27:55.240 I already have a pretty good job. 00:27:55.240 --> 00:27:58.120 And then, it turns out Rutgers hired me. 00:27:58.120 --> 00:28:02.280 So now suddenly I was a professor for planetary science, 00:28:03.120 --> 00:28:05.520 even though I had never taken a planetary science 00:28:05.520 --> 00:28:08.520 class in my entire life. 00:28:08.840 --> 00:28:10.440 So I moved to New York. 00:28:10.440 --> 00:28:11.640 Sorry, I moved to New Jersey. 00:28:11.640 --> 00:28:14.640 Rutgers is the state university of New Jersey. 00:28:15.280 --> 00:28:18.280 I continue to do outreach, which I knew from the museum. 00:28:18.840 --> 00:28:21.120 I had a lab, my own lab space. 00:28:21.120 --> 00:28:22.800 I had one at the museum. So I knew that. 00:28:22.800 --> 00:28:24.480 And I helped build a meteorite collection. 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:26.600 I knew that from the museum as well. 00:28:26.600 --> 00:28:29.160 And I helped them build out their geology museum. 00:28:29.160 --> 00:28:30.840 So you can see me in that, 00:28:30.840 --> 00:28:32.480 in that display cabinet that I built. 00:28:32.480 --> 00:28:34.680 And I was very comfortable with all these things 00:28:34.680 --> 00:28:36.600 because I've done that before. 00:28:36.600 --> 00:28:40.120 What I was not comfortable with was teaching. 00:28:40.800 --> 00:28:43.680 So it turns out teaching students is really hard. 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:46.440 I suddenly had to teach about the Moon. 00:28:46.440 --> 00:28:48.320 I had to teach about Mars in the classroom. 00:28:48.320 --> 00:28:50.280 So you can see them here studying. 00:28:50.280 --> 00:28:53.040 But I also decided to teach in the hallway. 00:28:53.040 --> 00:28:56.040 I showed the students how to be a rover on Mars. 00:28:56.400 --> 00:28:58.200 I did experiments with them. 00:28:58.200 --> 00:29:01.000 I started to really, really enjoy the teaching aspect. 00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:03.400 That's what I learned about myself. 00:29:03.400 --> 00:29:06.840 I taught students how to be in the lab to do research in the lab. 00:29:07.120 --> 00:29:11.560 I took my students across the country so that they could represent and present 00:29:11.560 --> 00:29:15.080 their science, become researchers themselves, to other research scientists. 00:29:15.320 --> 00:29:18.320 So I had a lot of fun. 00:29:19.600 --> 00:29:22.440 But things don't always go to plan. 00:29:22.440 --> 00:29:25.280 So there was also a lot of frustration when the lab was broken 00:29:25.280 --> 00:29:26.760 or my science didn't pan out. 00:29:26.760 --> 00:29:29.760 Or, like, I tried to apply for a grant and I didn't get it. 00:29:29.960 --> 00:29:32.840 But there was also a lot of other opportunities. 00:29:32.840 --> 00:29:35.960 I got to go to an Antarctica for example, even though I was pretty scared about it. 00:29:35.960 --> 00:29:38.720 That's very far away and really, really cold. 00:29:38.720 --> 00:29:42.120 And I traveled to Houston a couple times because I was also studying 00:29:42.120 --> 00:29:42.920 Apollo samples. 00:29:42.920 --> 00:29:46.240 So I would go back to Houston, to NASA, where the Apollo samples are stored, and, 00:29:47.160 --> 00:29:50.160 ultimately, I helped, NASA, 00:29:50.320 --> 00:29:54.520 in 2019 to open one of the very last Apollo 17 samples. 00:29:55.040 --> 00:29:59.480 So then when in 2023, they opened up a position 00:29:59.880 --> 00:30:03.160 to be the Artemis Curation Lead, I decided 00:30:04.280 --> 00:30:05.520 to just try. 00:30:05.520 --> 00:30:07.320 It's another opportunity. 00:30:07.320 --> 00:30:10.160 I'm just going to apply for it and see what happens. 00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:13.160 So since November 2023, 00:30:13.280 --> 00:30:16.440 I was hired, as a civil servant, 00:30:17.120 --> 00:30:20.120 as the Artemis Sample Curation Lead. 00:30:20.560 --> 00:30:23.960 And that turned out to be the position that combines 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:26.960 all of my happy places into one. 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:29.400 I get to be in the lab. 00:30:29.400 --> 00:30:32.400 Not always, but sometimes, which is great. 00:30:32.640 --> 00:30:34.560 I get to travel a lot. 00:30:34.560 --> 00:30:37.080 So you can see, in this group picture 00:30:37.080 --> 00:30:40.080 here, you can maybe spy Sara and Trevor. 00:30:40.080 --> 00:30:42.000 We get to go to a lot of these meetings. 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:45.000 We get to travel all over the country and across the world. 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:48.000 You might see some pictures from Trevor where we are traveling. 00:30:48.440 --> 00:30:50.880 I get to visit different things. 00:30:50.880 --> 00:30:54.280 Like here I’m standing in front of Orion on a recovery vessel for Artemis. 00:30:56.840 --> 00:30:59.560 I get to be in simulations with Sara, 00:30:59.560 --> 00:31:01.640 where we pretend to be on the lunar surface 00:31:01.640 --> 00:31:05.200 and then talk to the astronauts and tell them how to collect samples. 00:31:05.760 --> 00:31:07.080 I still get to teach. 00:31:07.080 --> 00:31:08.320 I get to teach the astronauts. 00:31:08.320 --> 00:31:12.080 Here is the Artemis II crew, and I get to teach them all about rocks, 00:31:12.080 --> 00:31:13.800 because that's what I really, really like. 00:31:13.800 --> 00:31:15.600 And as a sample lead that's what I do. 00:31:15.600 --> 00:31:19.040 But the biggest thing that I'm doing is, I'm helping NASA 00:31:19.320 --> 00:31:22.320 bring back the next samples from the Moon, 00:31:22.440 --> 00:31:25.000 and then making sure that we 00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:28.800 bring them back and store them responsibly and protect them 00:31:28.800 --> 00:31:32.520 so that when you guys are old enough and you decide to be scientists 00:31:32.840 --> 00:31:35.520 and you would want to request these Moon rocks, 00:31:35.520 --> 00:31:38.440 that they are protected and ready for you to study. 00:31:39.840 --> 00:31:41.880 And so that's what I'm doing at NASA. 00:31:41.880 --> 00:31:45.560 I'm still learning a lot every time I switch positions, I learn something new. 00:31:45.560 --> 00:31:48.560 I have to put in a lot of work. 00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:51.560 But looking back, 00:31:51.560 --> 00:31:54.120 I would have never known that I'm capable of this. 00:31:54.120 --> 00:31:54.440 Right. 00:31:54.440 --> 00:31:57.480 It is okay for you to not know what you want to do. 00:31:57.480 --> 00:32:01.560 If you look at my career plan down here, my career path, it's not like 00:32:01.560 --> 00:32:02.280 I went to high school. 00:32:02.280 --> 00:32:03.480 And then I had just one error 00:32:03.480 --> 00:32:06.000 because I knew exactly what I want to do, and I follow that path. 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:08.800 If you know what you want to do, great. Do it. 00:32:08.800 --> 00:32:09.920 Follow your dream. 00:32:09.920 --> 00:32:11.800 If you don't know, that's cool. 00:32:11.800 --> 00:32:14.040 Take opportunities even when you're scared. 00:32:14.040 --> 00:32:15.480 Maybe especially when you're scared. 00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:16.560 Because usually that leads 00:32:16.560 --> 00:32:20.400 to amazing experiences that you can learn something about yourself. 00:32:22.520 --> 00:32:23.960 It's okay to fail. 00:32:23.960 --> 00:32:27.800 I failed so many times in my life, but that just means it's an opportunity 00:32:27.800 --> 00:32:32.720 to try something different to find what you like and what you don't like to know. 00:32:32.720 --> 00:32:35.520 What you don't like is really, really important. 00:32:35.520 --> 00:32:39.400 So that you become happy and then just you know, 00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:42.960 when you figure out and you learn what you like, follow that, follow your dreams. 00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:45.520 Don't believe anybody who tells you that you can't do it. 00:32:45.520 --> 00:32:46.840 Do it anyways. 00:32:46.840 --> 00:32:50.120 People, when I was growing up, always told me that I'm not smart, 00:32:50.400 --> 00:32:53.240 I can't do anything, and now I work for NASA. 00:32:53.240 --> 00:32:56.240 Like I work with the smartest people in the world. 00:32:56.280 --> 00:32:58.960 And I'm having fun doing it. 00:32:58.960 --> 00:33:01.880 So you can too. 00:33:01.880 --> 00:33:02.640 And if you think. 00:33:02.640 --> 00:33:05.400 Oh, but NASA only need scientists and engineers. That's not true. 00:33:05.400 --> 00:33:06.480 NASA needs everybody. 00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:08.880 We need writers. We need artists, we need programmers. 00:33:08.880 --> 00:33:09.920 We need budget analyst. 00:33:09.920 --> 00:33:12.000 We need educators. Right? 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:15.240 Because going to space is hard, and it needs all of us so that 00:33:15.240 --> 00:33:16.360 we can be successful. 00:33:18.080 --> 00:33:20.040 So thank you to listening for 00:33:20.040 --> 00:33:23.840 my really convoluted, weird, not straightforward career path. 00:33:25.160 --> 00:33:28.160 No matter what you do, you will get there. 00:33:28.160 --> 00:33:29.000 Thank you for listening. 00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:33.400 I'm happy to answer questions, but I'm going to hand this over now to Trevor. 00:33:34.400 --> 00:33:36.960 So then he can talk to you more about. 00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:39.960 And I'm really curious to hear what he has to say, what his career path. 00:33:40.480 --> 00:33:42.400 Thanks, Juliane. Hello, everybody. 00:33:42.400 --> 00:33:46.520 I must say, this is really fun to learn about Juliane 00:33:46.520 --> 00:33:50.880 and Sara, folks that I work with on a daily basis. 00:33:50.880 --> 00:33:53.840 And it's really fun to, to find out more about them. 00:33:53.840 --> 00:33:59.280 I this is a unique opportunity, and, I'm happy to share my career pathway. 00:33:59.320 --> 00:34:03.360 All right, well, let's get started on the career pathway of myself, Trevor Graff. 00:34:03.360 --> 00:34:06.120 And so we're going to do this the map edition. 00:34:06.120 --> 00:34:10.440 And so similar to Juliane, I had an awesome opportunity 00:34:10.440 --> 00:34:13.960 to work at a number of places on our beautiful Earth, but also, 00:34:14.560 --> 00:34:16.720 throughout my career thinking about other planets 00:34:16.720 --> 00:34:19.800 and so we're going to include Mars and the Moon in this. 00:34:20.440 --> 00:34:21.880 And so let's dive in. 00:34:22.880 --> 00:34:23.120 Here's 00:34:23.120 --> 00:34:26.120 our beautiful planet Earth, as you all know. 00:34:26.160 --> 00:34:31.520 I was born and raised in a small town right outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 00:34:31.520 --> 00:34:34.600 So there's little baby Trevor, right there. 00:34:35.520 --> 00:34:40.560 Kind of a harkening back to of my early start in, in the East Coast. 00:34:41.280 --> 00:34:44.280 Grew up, in that area, you know, 00:34:44.600 --> 00:34:47.760 between the east coast of Ohio and the, oh I’m sorry 00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:52.360 yeah, the east coast of Ohio, the west coast of Pennsylvania. 00:34:53.120 --> 00:34:57.000 I grew up playing sports, had, amazing family, 00:34:57.400 --> 00:35:00.400 supportive family of all the career path that you're about to see. 00:35:00.600 --> 00:35:02.240 I'm kind of the small brother. 00:35:02.240 --> 00:35:04.800 I've an awesome big sister and awesome family 00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:06.480 that has supported me throughout my career. 00:35:06.480 --> 00:35:11.200 So I'm super happy about about that and and recognize how how supportive they are. 00:35:11.560 --> 00:35:15.200 On everything that all these adventures that I've had, the unique opportunity 00:35:15.200 --> 00:35:15.960 to embark on, 00:35:17.800 --> 00:35:21.280 I started or at least my high school years starting there. 00:35:21.280 --> 00:35:24.320 I was a Fighting bulldog at Lakeview High School. 00:35:24.680 --> 00:35:28.800 So there's the the emblem for the Fighting Bulldogs at Lakeview. 00:35:29.360 --> 00:35:32.760 And, you know, I reflected as I was putting this presentation 00:35:32.760 --> 00:35:34.360 together of some of my attributes 00:35:34.360 --> 00:35:37.920 in high school, and one of them one of the challenges, I would say that, 00:35:38.360 --> 00:35:43.200 I kind of a theme, I think, with both Sara and Juliane, is I was very shy. 00:35:43.200 --> 00:35:45.960 So here's a snippet out of my high school yearbook. 00:35:45.960 --> 00:35:48.960 I was voted shyest my senior year. 00:35:49.400 --> 00:35:52.320 And there's some things in my career that’ve really helped me, 00:35:52.320 --> 00:35:54.160 you know, overcome some of that shyness. 00:35:54.160 --> 00:35:58.560 But I also recognize that that's also an attribute in some people and myself, 00:35:58.880 --> 00:36:02.520 to be able to reflect and listen, in a unique way. But 00:36:03.640 --> 00:36:06.640 one of those things that helped me 00:36:06.760 --> 00:36:10.360 start to be a little bit more outgoing was Boy Scouts. 00:36:10.360 --> 00:36:14.120 I was involved in Boy Scouts largely throughout my high school years. 00:36:14.520 --> 00:36:16.480 Got really involved in it. 00:36:16.480 --> 00:36:19.320 Another theme that you heard through through listening 00:36:19.320 --> 00:36:23.160 through Sara and Juliane, I love nature, I love the outdoors. 00:36:23.160 --> 00:36:26.400 And I think that flavored a lot of my career aspirations 00:36:26.400 --> 00:36:27.880 and Boy Scouts fit that perfectly. 00:36:27.880 --> 00:36:30.640 I went all the way through Eagle Scout. 00:36:30.640 --> 00:36:33.840 And it really, really started helping me come out of my shell, 00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:37.440 interact with people and start to learn what I wanted to do in life. 00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:39.480 And so big credit to, 00:36:39.480 --> 00:36:43.040 you know, those folks that are in Girl Scouts or current scouting programs. 00:36:43.320 --> 00:36:47.600 I think it's a fantastic way to to learn about yourself and others. 00:36:48.960 --> 00:36:50.080 And then also high school, 00:36:50.080 --> 00:36:54.240 just thinking back about like, big influences in my life, started 00:36:54.240 --> 00:36:58.280 to think about, okay, I love nature, but like, how do I make this a career? 00:36:58.280 --> 00:37:01.760 And, you know, one of my science teachers that you see, 00:37:01.760 --> 00:37:06.960 there was a big part of thinking about how to apply science to understand nature. 00:37:06.960 --> 00:37:10.600 And so, you know, there's some influential people and teachers 00:37:10.600 --> 00:37:14.160 that you think about when you look back at your your life story and career. 00:37:14.160 --> 00:37:17.160 And, and Doctor Shear was one of those. 00:37:18.720 --> 00:37:22.240 Then I went to, undergrad and so undergrad, 00:37:22.800 --> 00:37:25.240 I went to Youngstown State University 00:37:25.240 --> 00:37:27.960 and Fighting Penguins. 00:37:27.960 --> 00:37:31.040 And so I went from a Fighting Bulldog to Fighting Penguin, 00:37:31.480 --> 00:37:35.760 pretty local school to, in Ohio, where we currently lived. 00:37:36.240 --> 00:37:39.520 And there were some things there that really helped me 00:37:39.880 --> 00:37:41.920 start to find my career path. 00:37:41.920 --> 00:37:44.000 And one of those were the professors that I had. 00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:48.000 And so you see three very influential professors that I had, 00:37:48.960 --> 00:37:49.200 in the 00:37:49.200 --> 00:37:53.200 top right or top left is is somebody that taught 00:37:53.200 --> 00:37:58.040 a geology 101 course, and she was amazing at communicating geology. 00:37:58.040 --> 00:38:01.280 She also wrote, I think still, one of the, 00:38:01.760 --> 00:38:05.280 influential geology books on national parks. 00:38:05.280 --> 00:38:08.480 And that really influenced me, the love of nature 00:38:08.480 --> 00:38:12.200 and somebody that can explain nature, that really started like, 00:38:13.200 --> 00:38:16.720 condensing it in my head of like, why landscapes look the way they were. 00:38:16.720 --> 00:38:18.120 It was just really impactful. 00:38:18.120 --> 00:38:21.480 And so this is where I really started going down the geology thread. 00:38:22.280 --> 00:38:25.960 And two other professors there, one that really opened the doors of 00:38:26.160 --> 00:38:29.560 of NASA to me, and another one that opened up a lot of doors to, 00:38:30.240 --> 00:38:34.680 to, to research, and specifically got to work with him 00:38:34.680 --> 00:38:39.240 on underwater research in the Bahamas and hence that that picture that you see 00:38:39.640 --> 00:38:40.600 in the lower left. 00:38:41.560 --> 00:38:44.480 Also around this time, I 00:38:44.480 --> 00:38:47.760 always had the kind of the drive to serve our country. 00:38:47.760 --> 00:38:51.000 And so I joined the Army while I was in, 00:38:52.000 --> 00:38:55.080 in undergrad and went off to, to basic training. 00:38:55.080 --> 00:38:57.600 So I'll, I'll talk a little bit about those last two things. 00:38:57.600 --> 00:39:02.480 The Army and the my undersea exploration and, in these slides. 00:39:02.640 --> 00:39:06.600 And so I went off, like I said, and enlisted in the Army, 00:39:06.600 --> 00:39:10.440 my freshman year at undergrad and went off to basic training. 00:39:10.440 --> 00:39:12.440 So you see Private Trevor 00:39:12.440 --> 00:39:15.440 And in the corner there where it says enlisted, 00:39:15.720 --> 00:39:18.360 went off to basic training and, you know, that was scary. 00:39:18.360 --> 00:39:21.360 But I also learned a ton, pulled on a lot of, 00:39:21.360 --> 00:39:25.360 you know, my experience from Boy Scouts and really thrived in that environment. 00:39:26.760 --> 00:39:27.280 And I 00:39:27.280 --> 00:39:30.360 progressed through the military ranks on both 00:39:30.360 --> 00:39:34.720 the enlisted side and then became an officer through ROTC 00:39:35.040 --> 00:39:36.120 at Youngstown State. 00:39:36.120 --> 00:39:39.680 And ultimately spent 16 years in the military. 00:39:40.280 --> 00:39:41.280 And so when I look back 00:39:41.280 --> 00:39:45.280 at my experience in the Army, it really took me many places. 00:39:45.280 --> 00:39:49.960 And so just looking at the places that the Army took me, it was kind of fun 00:39:49.960 --> 00:39:53.000 to do, fun activity when I was putting this presentation together. 00:39:53.440 --> 00:39:58.120 And then reflecting on what the Army really imparted to me as a person. 00:39:58.120 --> 00:40:01.120 And that's really the people, the people you meet 00:40:01.680 --> 00:40:05.760 in a military environment with, you know, people from all walks of life. 00:40:06.200 --> 00:40:07.440 Just really reflecting 00:40:07.440 --> 00:40:11.280 on, how the people I met during deployments or training activities 00:40:11.280 --> 00:40:14.800 all the way back to basic training have really still influence on my life. 00:40:15.520 --> 00:40:19.560 And the last thing I’ll mention about the Army is it's a fantastic 00:40:19.560 --> 00:40:20.640 leadership experience. 00:40:20.640 --> 00:40:23.640 And so it takes you all these places in the world, but it also 00:40:23.920 --> 00:40:27.200 puts you in leadership experiences, especially when you become an officer, 00:40:27.840 --> 00:40:28.840 to bring you, 00:40:29.800 --> 00:40:30.520 to the best that you 00:40:30.520 --> 00:40:33.880 can be to, to serve, you know, soldiers and yourself. 00:40:34.360 --> 00:40:37.560 And so really highlight my military experience 00:40:37.560 --> 00:40:41.000 that helped my civilian career, in many ways. 00:40:41.000 --> 00:40:44.560 And so really, proud to to serve our country the way I did. 00:40:46.080 --> 00:40:46.480 And now let’s 00:40:46.480 --> 00:40:48.200 talk a little bit about the underwater world, 00:40:48.200 --> 00:40:50.240 because this is one of the things that I love the most. 00:40:50.240 --> 00:40:51.200 You could say it's a hobby, 00:40:51.200 --> 00:40:54.800 but it's also a hobby that's creeped into my civilian career. 00:40:55.560 --> 00:40:58.640 And so, I put all the little dive flags of all the places 00:40:58.640 --> 00:41:01.320 I've been really privileged to dive across the world. 00:41:01.320 --> 00:41:04.720 And so lots in the Caribbean, but also some places, 00:41:05.400 --> 00:41:08.400 like Fiji and Australia and Iceland. 00:41:09.040 --> 00:41:11.040 And I really got involved in this, 00:41:11.040 --> 00:41:14.600 especially in my undergrad and my graduate years. 00:41:15.040 --> 00:41:18.400 I was privileged to meet my wife that way and, and proposed to 00:41:18.400 --> 00:41:20.200 her underwater in Honduras. 00:41:21.360 --> 00:41:24.280 And I got really into underwater photography. 00:41:24.280 --> 00:41:27.440 And so here's just a quick example from, I think, a dive trip 00:41:27.440 --> 00:41:30.440 in Fiji of a clownfish and an anemone. 00:41:30.480 --> 00:41:34.320 I really enjoyed the patience and technical details 00:41:34.320 --> 00:41:37.320 it takes to take a good underwater photography. 00:41:38.120 --> 00:41:39.480 I also started blending 00:41:39.480 --> 00:41:42.760 my love for the underwater world into my civilian career. 00:41:42.760 --> 00:41:46.120 So here you see, pretty important picture to me. 00:41:46.160 --> 00:41:50.040 I was part of the the, NEMO 22 mission 00:41:50.760 --> 00:41:54.600 off the coast of Florida, where I got to live with astronauts 00:41:54.600 --> 00:41:57.600 in that habitat that you see behind that picture, 00:41:58.080 --> 00:42:01.560 for two weeks underwater at 60ft in full saturation 00:42:01.560 --> 00:42:05.880 diving with commercial dive hats, and living inside of a habitat 00:42:06.120 --> 00:42:09.120 as a proxy for, like, the International Space Station 00:42:09.520 --> 00:42:13.080 or habitat on another planetary surface and got to go out EVA 00:42:13.120 --> 00:42:18.240 or Moonwalking or spacewalking out there on the reef around us and conduct science. 00:42:18.240 --> 00:42:22.040 So really, really cool experience and one that I'd love to talk about. 00:42:22.320 --> 00:42:25.840 To talk to folks and, and share that experience of what it means 00:42:25.840 --> 00:42:29.640 to live underwater and in that environment for long duration. 00:42:31.240 --> 00:42:31.640 I also 00:42:31.640 --> 00:42:35.520 started to get involved in other ways that the underwater environment touches. 00:42:35.520 --> 00:42:37.080 You know, what we do here at NASA. 00:42:37.080 --> 00:42:42.920 And so you see here, an opportunity to dive, a hard suit or a exosuit to, 00:42:43.200 --> 00:42:46.560 to evaluate that and its parallels to spacesuits. 00:42:47.040 --> 00:42:49.840 I also have the opportunity to drive mini subs. 00:42:49.840 --> 00:42:53.640 And so all these things, really the underwater environment has really been 00:42:53.640 --> 00:42:56.640 a great blend of not only just I love scuba diving and 00:42:56.880 --> 00:43:00.440 and the recreational part of it, but that the ways is now touching, 00:43:01.320 --> 00:43:04.200 not only the NASA career, but also my love for geology. 00:43:04.200 --> 00:43:09.160 So I got to dive between two tectonic plates in Iceland very cold water. 00:43:09.840 --> 00:43:14.920 And, also apply that to my current job where I help, you know, 00:43:15.360 --> 00:43:19.560 test and train astronauts and tools and techniques at the bottom of the NBL 00:43:19.560 --> 00:43:21.120 or the Neutral Buoyancy Lab. 00:43:21.120 --> 00:43:24.760 And so you see a couple pictures of different dive operations 00:43:24.960 --> 00:43:29.080 all the way into, pressurized suit or a spacesuit, at the bottom 00:43:29.080 --> 00:43:34.400 of the giant pool here in Houston to prepare for other planetary surfaces. 00:43:36.000 --> 00:43:37.720 But bouncing back to my 00:43:37.720 --> 00:43:41.680 my schooling, I went from, bulldog to a fighting penguin 00:43:41.680 --> 00:43:46.040 to, Arizona State and the as a sun devil. 00:43:46.040 --> 00:43:50.280 And so shout out to the folks that I saw that were online, from Arizona State. 00:43:51.600 --> 00:43:54.280 All geologists kind of migrate west if you kind of 00:43:54.280 --> 00:43:57.600 got your degree in the east, because the rocks are very well exposed there. 00:43:57.600 --> 00:44:02.120 But also, ASU was a fantastic place to go because around this time 00:44:02.120 --> 00:44:05.840 I started to become very interested in planetary geology. 00:44:05.840 --> 00:44:10.560 So looking at other planets and so at Arizona State University, 00:44:10.560 --> 00:44:16.000 for those that don't know it has a long history of Mars exploration. 00:44:16.560 --> 00:44:19.680 And so there's a building on ASU called the Mars Exploration 00:44:19.880 --> 00:44:22.480 or, sorry, the Mars Flight, 00:44:22.480 --> 00:44:24.000 Space Flight Facility. 00:44:24.000 --> 00:44:28.640 And, got involved with a professor there that really opened up the doors 00:44:28.640 --> 00:44:34.360 for opportunities as a graduate student to work on Mars, and somewhat literally. 00:44:34.360 --> 00:44:37.360 So, we had both an orbiter 00:44:37.440 --> 00:44:40.200 orbiting the, the planet Mars. 00:44:40.200 --> 00:44:45.120 So we were taking pictures, from, from orbit and, and doing research 00:44:45.120 --> 00:44:49.720 with those and our graduate opportunities, as well as commanding to, 00:44:52.000 --> 00:44:53.640 two rovers on the surface of Mars. 00:44:53.640 --> 00:44:58.080 Some folks might remember the MER rovers or the Mars Exploration Rovers. 00:44:58.560 --> 00:45:02.280 And so as a graduate student really got involved in commanding these rovers. 00:45:02.760 --> 00:45:06.120 And this is all intermixed with that military career that I showed before. 00:45:06.120 --> 00:45:07.480 So there are some deployments there. 00:45:07.480 --> 00:45:09.600 There's a it's a very complicated timeline, 00:45:09.600 --> 00:45:12.600 but just wanted to show the opportunities that folks have. 00:45:13.080 --> 00:45:14.960 Again, like Sara and Juliane said, right. 00:45:14.960 --> 00:45:16.120 Like follow the path. 00:45:16.120 --> 00:45:18.360 Never say no to some of these opportunities. 00:45:18.360 --> 00:45:20.280 And this is a good example. 00:45:20.280 --> 00:45:24.680 You know, the Rovers were a good example where I went from my graduate degree 00:45:24.800 --> 00:45:28.440 to like a full time job, commanding spirit and opportunity. 00:45:28.440 --> 00:45:30.080 Rovers on the surface of Mars. 00:45:30.080 --> 00:45:32.880 So I would literally get up every day, look at the newest pictures 00:45:32.880 --> 00:45:37.120 that the rovers took of Mars, and then help target science opportunities 00:45:37.560 --> 00:45:41.760 that the science team wanted using, unique camera that are on those two rovers. 00:45:42.520 --> 00:45:48.200 And so this is kind of where it transitions from, from my, my schoolwork 00:45:48.200 --> 00:45:52.720 into a NASA career, or at least what I was doing at ASU with those rovers. 00:45:53.280 --> 00:45:55.880 And so at NASA, I was, 00:45:55.880 --> 00:45:59.240 recruited to come over to the Johnson Space Center to kind of 00:45:59.760 --> 00:46:02.440 continue this history of Mars exploration. 00:46:02.440 --> 00:46:03.600 So got involved, 00:46:05.200 --> 00:46:06.720 at at at 00:46:06.720 --> 00:46:10.360 NASA, at the Johnson Space Center, working as part of the Mars Science Laboratory. 00:46:10.360 --> 00:46:13.600 So now that now we're talking the bigger rovers that are the size of cars, 00:46:14.480 --> 00:46:19.200 and also, got a got to be part of the Mars 2020 mission. 00:46:19.200 --> 00:46:22.040 And so that's the one with the, 00:46:22.040 --> 00:46:25.000 the little helicopter that came with it that folks might remember. 00:46:25.000 --> 00:46:28.960 And then I really got to be involved in this, spacecraft 00:46:28.960 --> 00:46:33.120 in a unique way where I got to, project manage buildings and flight hardware. 00:46:33.120 --> 00:46:36.360 So I got to use some of those leadership experiences that the military 00:46:36.360 --> 00:46:40.440 imparted on me, but also the science that I care about. 00:46:40.440 --> 00:46:43.960 And so here's a picture of me in full clean room garbs 00:46:43.960 --> 00:46:46.960 that you know, Juliane is, is, well aware of, of, you know, 00:46:47.360 --> 00:46:50.440 keeping everything clean, both hardware and the samples that we have. 00:46:51.160 --> 00:46:54.160 But got to build some pretty special hardware that got bolted on 00:46:54.160 --> 00:46:57.440 to the front of that rover, kind of like its front license plate. 00:46:57.960 --> 00:47:00.240 And anybody that's in the DC area. 00:47:00.240 --> 00:47:04.120 I'll do a shout out that, recently this this calibration target, 00:47:05.520 --> 00:47:07.320 put it as part of a permanent exhibit 00:47:07.320 --> 00:47:11.520 in the new, Smithsonian, museum. 00:47:11.680 --> 00:47:13.960 And so not the new, a new 00:47:13.960 --> 00:47:17.000 exhibit in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. 00:47:17.000 --> 00:47:18.840 And so if you're in the DC area 00:47:18.840 --> 00:47:22.120 and you want to go on an Easter egg hunt and try to find this cal target, 00:47:23.280 --> 00:47:27.000 quick clue, it's it's right next to R2D2 sitting in the Smithsonian. 00:47:27.000 --> 00:47:31.440 So huge honor and, a challenge, folks that may be in that area to go find it. 00:47:33.480 --> 00:47:35.560 And then finally, just talking a little bit 00:47:35.560 --> 00:47:39.120 about my NASA experiences and leading up to what my current job is. 00:47:39.520 --> 00:47:43.280 Again, using the map, NASA has taken me all over the, 00:47:43.320 --> 00:47:46.880 you know, at least, the United States and some places in the world 00:47:47.360 --> 00:47:50.520 and, you know, doing field geology in places like, 00:47:51.600 --> 00:47:52.800 like Hawaii for 00:47:52.800 --> 00:47:56.200 a number of field expert, excursions. 00:47:56.680 --> 00:48:01.040 Iceland is another place that we visit often because of its planetary relevance. 00:48:02.160 --> 00:48:05.640 I get to use some of those leadership experiences to talk before and early on 00:48:05.640 --> 00:48:09.960 I talked about of like taking astronauts and other flight controllers 00:48:09.960 --> 00:48:12.960 out to unique places on our Earth, 00:48:13.600 --> 00:48:16.840 most recently to like an impact crater in northern Canada. 00:48:17.280 --> 00:48:20.880 And so you see some pictures of some fantastic group experiences 00:48:20.880 --> 00:48:21.880 training astronauts 00:48:21.880 --> 00:48:25.000 and training people and in unique places that we have here on Earth. 00:48:25.880 --> 00:48:30.880 Also get to train crew members and mission simulations across the United States, 00:48:31.080 --> 00:48:35.400 which kind of leads me to our last planet, which is the Moon. 00:48:35.400 --> 00:48:38.400 And so that's where I've kind of turn my attention to in the past 00:48:39.240 --> 00:48:42.240 four or five years, helping the Artemis program. 00:48:42.440 --> 00:48:45.000 And so the Artemis program, 00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:49.400 as Juliane and Sara alluded to, is this real emphasis 00:48:49.400 --> 00:48:52.720 to, to get back to the Moon and on to Mars and other planets. 00:48:53.280 --> 00:48:56.280 And so I've been using my skill sets not only to help the Artemis 00:48:56.320 --> 00:48:59.560 II mission, which, you know, shout out to the Artemis II crew 00:48:59.560 --> 00:49:03.680 that will be hopefully launching here early in next year, 00:49:04.200 --> 00:49:07.760 to go do a flyby around the Moon and some of the operations that Sara 00:49:08.400 --> 00:49:09.240 shared with you, 00:49:09.240 --> 00:49:12.800 you know, are really preparing for that mission in earnest right now. 00:49:13.320 --> 00:49:16.040 But also, my day job is thinking about the surface missions. 00:49:16.040 --> 00:49:17.600 So whenever we send crew members 00:49:17.600 --> 00:49:21.120 back to the surface of the Moon, particularly the South Pole of the Moon, 00:49:21.720 --> 00:49:25.520 my day job right now is thinking about and conducting the training, 00:49:25.520 --> 00:49:27.480 as I mentioned, and all those unique places. 00:49:27.480 --> 00:49:30.360 So that's a picture from Iceland with a fantastic group 00:49:30.360 --> 00:49:33.360 that we took out to Iceland for that type of training. 00:49:33.640 --> 00:49:35.400 I'm also involved in the operation. 00:49:35.400 --> 00:49:38.720 So here's a picture from the, you know, the flight control, 00:49:40.560 --> 00:49:43.080 mission control, floor. 00:49:43.080 --> 00:49:46.200 As we're doing some of those Artemis two and other sims for, 00:49:46.200 --> 00:49:48.120 for future Artemis missions. 00:49:48.120 --> 00:49:51.320 And then really, my day job is thinking about the space tools 00:49:51.320 --> 00:49:53.480 and suits that we're going to take to the surface. 00:49:53.480 --> 00:49:56.560 And so all these things, the tools, the training 00:49:56.560 --> 00:49:59.560 and the equipment that we're going to take back to the surface, 00:50:00.040 --> 00:50:03.640 including opportunities to get into a spacesuit as a scientist 00:50:04.000 --> 00:50:07.280 and use the tools has been a really highlight of my career. 00:50:07.760 --> 00:50:09.960 And I encourage you guys to follow the Artemis 00:50:09.960 --> 00:50:12.360 missions as they progress over the next few years. 00:50:12.360 --> 00:50:14.800 It's really going to be a fun and exciting time. 00:50:14.800 --> 00:50:18.320 And so with that, I'm going to turn it back over to Paige that I think we'll, 00:50:18.840 --> 00:50:19.920 facilitate some questions. 00:50:21.480 --> 00:50:21.960 Awesome. 00:50:21.960 --> 00:50:27.600 Well, thank you, Trevor, and thank you, Juliane and Sara as well. 00:50:27.600 --> 00:50:32.160 As you can all see, these career pathways 00:50:32.720 --> 00:50:36.840 certainly don't ever seem linear, and they certainly are included 00:50:37.560 --> 00:50:41.400 with opportunities that these folks have taken advantage 00:50:41.400 --> 00:50:44.400 of to land them in the places that they are today. 00:50:44.600 --> 00:50:47.720 So we certainly hope that you have learned some things, 00:50:47.880 --> 00:50:50.880 that you got perhaps excited about some things. 00:50:51.000 --> 00:50:54.360 And as you think about some of your questions 00:50:54.360 --> 00:50:58.840 for our three speakers, one little short note. 00:50:58.840 --> 00:51:01.120 So, you know, as you're thinking about and perhaps 00:51:01.120 --> 00:51:05.000 putting your questions in the Q&A area, each of these folks 00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:08.040 have some part of their career 00:51:08.040 --> 00:51:11.040 pathway associated with the Moon. 00:51:11.040 --> 00:51:17.000 And if you're not aware, this Saturday, October 4th, is an annual celebration 00:51:17.000 --> 00:51:20.000 of the Moon called International Observe the Moon Night, 00:51:20.120 --> 00:51:25.240 and this is an annual celebration for everyone, everywhere to sort of 00:51:25.440 --> 00:51:29.400 get out, look up and reflect on your thoughts on the Moon. 00:51:29.640 --> 00:51:34.880 So while you're perhaps thinking about and putting in questions into the Q&A area, 00:51:35.040 --> 00:51:40.520 I just want to take a brief moment to ask Sara, then Juliane, and then Trevor. 00:51:41.040 --> 00:51:44.760 When you look up at the Moon, what intrigues you? 00:51:44.760 --> 00:51:46.320 What excites you? 00:51:46.320 --> 00:51:49.160 What do you think about when you look up at the Moon? 00:51:49.160 --> 00:51:50.520 So we'll start with you, Sara. 00:51:53.200 --> 00:51:53.720 The first 00:51:53.720 --> 00:51:58.000 thing that I think about is probably the thing that I've been thinking about 00:51:58.000 --> 00:52:01.000 when I look at the Moon for the longest is 00:52:02.520 --> 00:52:05.760 how many other people are standing outside looking at the Moon. 00:52:05.760 --> 00:52:11.160 Also, just like having that connection of knowing that I am not the only one 00:52:11.160 --> 00:52:15.440 looking up and thinking, wow, first of all, I know that's up there. 00:52:15.440 --> 00:52:18.920 And then secondly, just having that, connection. 00:52:18.920 --> 00:52:21.080 And I'm still learning a lot about the Moon. 00:52:21.080 --> 00:52:26.280 So I've, joined the lunar lunar science team within the last year. 00:52:26.280 --> 00:52:29.680 So I like to look up and see if I recognize any features. 00:52:30.600 --> 00:52:33.600 Since I'm still learning all of those. 00:52:33.840 --> 00:52:35.320 Fantastic. 00:52:35.320 --> 00:52:36.640 How about you, Juliane? 00:52:36.640 --> 00:52:38.240 Thoughts? Intrigues. 00:52:38.240 --> 00:52:40.240 Questions? Excitement? 00:52:40.240 --> 00:52:43.400 Yes. Lots of excitement. Lots of intrigue. 00:52:44.360 --> 00:52:45.800 Similar to Sara, I think it 00:52:45.800 --> 00:52:48.800 connects all humans on this planet, which is great. 00:52:50.000 --> 00:52:52.160 To me, it's also a reminder of what I can 00:52:52.160 --> 00:52:55.160 do, despite everybody telling me that I can't do it. 00:52:55.320 --> 00:52:57.920 Because I am studying the Moon, and I'm 00:52:57.920 --> 00:53:01.320 now taking care of the samples from the Moon and, helping us every turn. 00:53:01.320 --> 00:53:02.520 More samples from this Moon. 00:53:02.520 --> 00:53:06.320 I, you know, help to teach the astronauts about it and, 00:53:07.440 --> 00:53:10.160 help them understand how to collect these samples. 00:53:10.160 --> 00:53:13.120 On the Moon and bringing back to us. 00:53:13.120 --> 00:53:15.160 But a big thing that I, I think about 00:53:15.160 --> 00:53:18.840 when I look at the Moon is that, the Moon is a museum. 00:53:19.560 --> 00:53:21.960 It's basically frozen in time. 00:53:21.960 --> 00:53:24.720 And so if we want to learn anything about Earth 00:53:24.720 --> 00:53:28.080 and our own history and our past, 00:53:30.440 --> 00:53:33.440 that is the planetary body that, 00:53:34.000 --> 00:53:37.000 will tell us what happened to our little corner. 00:53:38.320 --> 00:53:40.080 Of our galaxy, basically. 00:53:40.080 --> 00:53:44.920 And how planetary processes have affected us. 00:53:45.680 --> 00:53:50.440 And so going back to the Moon is like going to a museum where I used to work, 00:53:52.000 --> 00:53:53.520 bringing back these rocks. 00:53:53.520 --> 00:53:57.440 This is like bringing back artifacts to look at them and read them 00:53:57.440 --> 00:54:00.440 and understand where we are coming from, 00:54:01.560 --> 00:54:04.360 how life evolved on our own planet, 00:54:04.360 --> 00:54:07.360 what Earth looked like in its early history. 00:54:07.440 --> 00:54:11.640 So the Moon holds a lot of mysteries and secrets. 00:54:12.720 --> 00:54:13.800 A lot of artifacts. 00:54:13.800 --> 00:54:18.000 And I really like that part of my job is trying to figure out how to 00:54:18.000 --> 00:54:22.200 how to read these artifacts, how to teach the astronauts which artifact to pick up 00:54:23.080 --> 00:54:26.160 so we can learn more about ourselves and our history and our past. 00:54:28.200 --> 00:54:30.960 Very, very fun, that’s your detective work there. 00:54:30.960 --> 00:54:32.840 That's right. 00:54:32.840 --> 00:54:33.880 How about you, Trevor? 00:54:33.880 --> 00:54:36.960 When you look up and look up at the Moon, 00:54:36.960 --> 00:54:39.960 what are your thoughts or reflections, intrigues or other? 00:54:40.080 --> 00:54:42.360 Yeah, it's normally 1 or 3 things. 00:54:42.360 --> 00:54:47.400 Or maybe it's all three things at once, and I, I guess I just simplify. 00:54:47.400 --> 00:54:50.480 It is like the past, the present and the future. 00:54:51.080 --> 00:54:54.520 And so I really love the historical aspects 00:54:54.520 --> 00:54:57.760 of Apollo, like looking up at the Moon and being like, we did that. 00:54:57.760 --> 00:55:00.240 Like we put people on the surface of the Moon. 00:55:00.240 --> 00:55:03.240 We brought back to Juliane’s labs and things like that. 00:55:03.240 --> 00:55:06.240 Like we we really learned so much from the past. 00:55:07.800 --> 00:55:10.880 And then I think about the present and all the work that we have to do. 00:55:11.320 --> 00:55:14.320 That's somewhat on our shoulders to get back there. 00:55:14.640 --> 00:55:16.240 And, and to do it right. 00:55:16.240 --> 00:55:20.040 And so maybe that's a little bit of the stress of part of looking up at the Moon. 00:55:20.040 --> 00:55:21.040 I'm like, oh, man. 00:55:21.040 --> 00:55:23.680 It's, it's, you know, there's a lot of complication. 00:55:23.680 --> 00:55:27.080 It takes a lot of communication and teamwork to do this right. 00:55:27.080 --> 00:55:29.160 And we're in the midst of it right now. 00:55:29.160 --> 00:55:31.800 And then the future is that, you know, the part that excites me 00:55:31.800 --> 00:55:34.600 and why I do it and why I love my job every single day. 00:55:34.600 --> 00:55:37.920 And that's, you know, this Artemis program is taking us there 00:55:38.520 --> 00:55:43.000 and all the opportunities that we have in front of us to do it right. 00:55:43.200 --> 00:55:46.440 And to, you know, go back there and learn, 00:55:47.040 --> 00:55:49.680 especially for me, the science and discovery of it all. 00:55:49.680 --> 00:55:51.160 The future is really bright, 00:55:51.160 --> 00:55:53.880 and I look forward to that every time I look up at the Moon. 00:55:53.880 --> 00:55:54.480 And I 00:55:54.480 --> 00:55:58.600 kind of get that reminder of why we do it and how special it is to be a part of it. 00:55:59.000 --> 00:56:00.280 Well, that's really awesome. 00:56:00.280 --> 00:56:03.720 Well, for all of you, you know, we hope on Saturday and really 00:56:03.720 --> 00:56:06.720 every day, every day is observe the Moon night. 00:56:06.880 --> 00:56:10.440 Always get out, look up and think about, you know, 00:56:10.680 --> 00:56:16.640 even where you perhaps will fit into the future of lunar exploration. 00:56:16.840 --> 00:56:18.840 Well, thanks for that little bit of, 00:56:18.840 --> 00:56:22.520 you know, an opportunity to hear about your reflections of the Moon. 00:56:22.520 --> 00:56:26.280 And I'm going to, as we have about 15 minutes 00:56:26.280 --> 00:56:29.720 left to our session today, 00:56:29.960 --> 00:56:33.520 I want to look at the questions that perhaps have come in 00:56:33.720 --> 00:56:37.240 so that we can answer as many questions 00:56:37.240 --> 00:56:40.240 as possible. So, 00:56:41.160 --> 00:56:43.280 here's a question, 00:56:43.280 --> 00:56:47.800 that I think might be something for each of you. 00:56:47.960 --> 00:56:52.040 We're going to start with Sara in terms of twists and turns. 00:56:52.280 --> 00:56:55.400 So starting with Sara, here's a question. 00:56:55.760 --> 00:56:59.560 With all the twists and turns in your career, what helps 00:56:59.560 --> 00:57:03.160 you keep persisting and moving forward? 00:57:03.440 --> 00:57:06.440 Sara, what say you. 00:57:07.560 --> 00:57:09.880 I think the thing 00:57:09.880 --> 00:57:13.360 that keeps me going the most, are two things. 00:57:13.360 --> 00:57:16.840 One, throughout school, it was an early career. 00:57:16.840 --> 00:57:17.360 It was, 00:57:18.920 --> 00:57:21.920 how can I. 00:57:24.320 --> 00:57:25.920 Set myself up for success 00:57:25.920 --> 00:57:28.920 in a way that maybe my parents did it. 00:57:30.680 --> 00:57:32.600 They tried their best, but also, 00:57:32.600 --> 00:57:33.560 I, like I said, I'm 00:57:33.560 --> 00:57:36.800 a first generation college graduate, so I had different opportunities, 00:57:36.800 --> 00:57:41.040 and I wanted to make sure that I took advantage of those opportunities. 00:57:41.040 --> 00:57:46.400 And my parents were very proud that I, was the first generation college student. 00:57:46.720 --> 00:57:49.920 The other one is persisting 00:57:51.320 --> 00:57:53.960 to continue to find something that I enjoy. 00:57:53.960 --> 00:57:56.960 So doing something that I enjoy to do, 00:57:58.040 --> 00:58:00.880 even though some of the times I was like, 00:58:00.880 --> 00:58:04.760 you know, college can be hard, I didn't always enjoy doing college, but, 00:58:05.640 --> 00:58:09.280 I knew in the long run that I would get to find something that I enjoy. 00:58:09.280 --> 00:58:13.160 So that was that was something that kept me determined and on the path of 00:58:13.160 --> 00:58:17.920 just making sure that I complete my degree, and then that 00:58:18.240 --> 00:58:21.240 I find something that I enjoy doing, 00:58:21.560 --> 00:58:24.560 at least something every day that I enjoy 00:58:25.160 --> 00:58:28.200 at least a little aspect of enjoyment in my everyday life. 00:58:30.840 --> 00:58:31.760 I love to say if 00:58:31.760 --> 00:58:34.840 you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. 00:58:34.840 --> 00:58:37.000 And so persistence and finding that. 00:58:37.000 --> 00:58:39.560 Thank you for sharing that you, Juliane. 00:58:39.560 --> 00:58:40.240 How about you? 00:58:40.240 --> 00:58:46.440 Any thoughts on that persistence aspect? Yes. 00:58:48.240 --> 00:58:51.240 I feel like. 00:58:51.680 --> 00:58:54.680 I said yes to a lot of these opportunities, 00:58:54.840 --> 00:58:57.840 even though I didn't know what I really wanted. 00:58:57.840 --> 00:59:01.000 And even though people told me I couldn't do it, I wasn't good enough. 00:59:02.960 --> 00:59:04.080 Because I wanted to try it out. 00:59:04.080 --> 00:59:06.400 Anyways, 00:59:06.400 --> 00:59:09.400 and oftentimes it was really hard. 00:59:09.520 --> 00:59:11.840 But I enjoyed the learning aspect of it. 00:59:11.840 --> 00:59:13.760 I enjoyed 00:59:13.760 --> 00:59:16.760 testing new boundaries, 00:59:16.760 --> 00:59:19.240 to see where I could go, 00:59:19.240 --> 00:59:22.640 to learn what I like and to learn what I really don't like. 00:59:22.640 --> 00:59:25.200 That's really important. 00:59:25.200 --> 00:59:26.240 Well, it keeps me going. 00:59:26.240 --> 00:59:28.840 Now, every day, I think, is the people that I work with, 00:59:30.320 --> 00:59:33.120 it's really, really fun. 00:59:33.120 --> 00:59:36.120 Everybody's very kind. 00:59:36.880 --> 00:59:39.080 You know, everybody brings a unique perspective. 00:59:39.080 --> 00:59:39.880 We're all different. 00:59:39.880 --> 00:59:42.880 And you can see from our three career paths here, 00:59:42.960 --> 00:59:44.640 that we all have different backgrounds. 00:59:44.640 --> 00:59:47.920 We are coming, you know, at least I come from a different country. 00:59:48.720 --> 00:59:52.200 We're all bringing different things to the table and and together, 00:59:52.200 --> 00:59:55.200 it makes us whole. 00:59:55.320 --> 00:59:58.320 And that I find very fun, 00:59:59.600 --> 01:00:02.120 and inspiring to keep working. 01:00:02.120 --> 01:00:06.560 Every time I get frustrated with my current job, 01:00:07.000 --> 01:00:10.960 I look at the Moon at night and I remind myself 01:00:12.200 --> 01:00:15.840 that that is a really cool place to go back to and to visit. 01:00:15.840 --> 01:00:17.640 Like I was not born. 01:00:17.640 --> 01:00:20.520 I wasn't here on this planet during Apollo, so I don't know what 01:00:20.520 --> 01:00:24.800 it feels like to watch somebody take a step on the lunar surface. 01:00:24.800 --> 01:00:30.680 So Artemis is is our Apollo, and I'm really excited about it. 01:00:31.720 --> 01:00:33.560 I can't wait for that day to come. 01:00:33.560 --> 01:00:36.560 And then I can't wait for the day when the samples come back here. 01:00:38.120 --> 01:00:40.200 And so I think 01:00:40.200 --> 01:00:43.200 what keeps me going is like my curiosity, 01:00:43.840 --> 01:00:46.840 my love of learning the people that I work with. 01:00:47.880 --> 01:00:52.680 And just thinking about the new rocks that come back, all the stories 01:00:52.680 --> 01:00:55.760 that these rocks contain, that we haven't learned about, 01:00:55.760 --> 01:00:58.760 and the opportunity, 01:00:59.360 --> 01:01:02.720 to enable other people like you guys, 01:01:04.400 --> 01:01:07.120 to make sure that there is samples for you. 01:01:07.120 --> 01:01:11.720 So that you could read those stories that are contained in these rocks. 01:01:13.000 --> 01:01:16.000 And my job sort of helps enable that, 01:01:16.160 --> 01:01:18.920 and that to me 01:01:18.920 --> 01:01:20.840 is just great. So that I. 01:01:20.840 --> 01:01:24.720 Yeah, I think it's a very convoluted answer. But. 01:01:25.440 --> 01:01:27.320 That that's how I feel about it. 01:01:27.320 --> 01:01:28.880 It's a very deep question. 01:01:28.880 --> 01:01:33.560 And we'll, we'll go to Trevor too, you know, but in terms of persistence for you, 01:01:33.560 --> 01:01:38.000 if you could share some thoughts on what drives you to keep going and persist. 01:01:38.480 --> 01:01:42.320 Yeah, I'm to just pick up on a theme that Juliane said, and that's people. 01:01:42.840 --> 01:01:45.880 But also recognize that changes over your career. 01:01:46.440 --> 01:01:47.840 At least it has for me. Right? 01:01:47.840 --> 01:01:52.160 It very much was in a learning mode when I was early career. 01:01:52.160 --> 01:01:55.480 And and then that kind of turns into a kind of collaboration mode 01:01:55.840 --> 01:01:56.960 in your mid-career. 01:01:56.960 --> 01:02:00.320 And if I could maybe say, you know, maybe, 01:02:01.200 --> 01:02:05.400 maybe changing between mid-career and more senior career now is like it turns into 01:02:05.400 --> 01:02:09.680 more of a mentoring mode, a learning and the collaboration never go away. 01:02:09.680 --> 01:02:09.920 Right. 01:02:09.920 --> 01:02:13.360 And so, but then it's the people that keep me, 01:02:13.360 --> 01:02:18.040 you know, excited about it because what we do is, is, is really cool. 01:02:18.040 --> 01:02:20.360 But you know, being involved with, 01:02:20.360 --> 01:02:23.200 the groups of people and the teamwork aspect of it is, 01:02:23.200 --> 01:02:27.480 is it's really been the fun part throughout my, my career path. 01:02:29.080 --> 01:02:29.520 Awesome. 01:02:29.520 --> 01:02:33.760 You know, and it's interesting because each of you did talk about how you were, 01:02:33.800 --> 01:02:37.120 you know, a little bit nervous about public speaking. 01:02:37.120 --> 01:02:40.400 And also you all commented on how, 01:02:41.640 --> 01:02:44.240 having someone believe in you 01:02:44.240 --> 01:02:47.720 and support you is such an important part. 01:02:47.720 --> 01:02:52.080 And that goes back to the people and being able to help you sort of move 01:02:52.080 --> 01:02:53.600 forward. 01:02:53.600 --> 01:02:57.440 And so, so a lot of inspiration 01:02:57.440 --> 01:03:01.240 in working with others and that whole collaboration aspect. 01:03:02.280 --> 01:03:06.160 A couple of other questions I'm going to be asking perhaps about, 01:03:06.400 --> 01:03:11.960 someone asked about something dealing with transitioning from professional to 01:03:12.040 --> 01:03:15.040 or from student to professional environment. 01:03:15.760 --> 01:03:18.320 But there's another question that I want to ask. 01:03:18.320 --> 01:03:21.520 Perhaps I'll perhaps I'll throw this one out to Trevor. 01:03:22.160 --> 01:03:25.360 Since it's an ASU student that asked this question, 01:03:25.760 --> 01:03:29.240 do you think, Trevor, it's better to pursue 01:03:29.240 --> 01:03:34.640 a more general science major, like geology or material science, 01:03:35.200 --> 01:03:41.000 or to pursue a more specific major, like space exploration, 01:03:41.000 --> 01:03:44.560 if they're interested in studying other planets. 01:03:44.560 --> 01:03:48.800 Any thoughts or recommendations you might have on that front? 01:03:50.360 --> 01:03:51.920 Yeah, I appreciate the question. 01:03:51.920 --> 01:03:55.400 And, you know, I can only reflect on my own career and thinking about it. 01:03:55.400 --> 01:03:58.160 And that's it was really beneficial for myself 01:03:58.160 --> 01:04:01.960 to have a base of like geology, just like terrestrial geology, 01:04:01.960 --> 01:04:05.000 to be able to understand rocks the way they are or processes 01:04:05.600 --> 01:04:08.680 and then eventually apply that, you know, I had the opportunity 01:04:08.680 --> 01:04:12.440 to go to grad school for more planetary geology or space exploration 01:04:13.120 --> 01:04:15.920 and then be able to apply that fundamentals like I had the, 01:04:15.920 --> 01:04:18.920 like foundation to be able to build upon. 01:04:18.920 --> 01:04:20.880 So you just don't start studying other planets 01:04:20.880 --> 01:04:22.920 without knowing how your home planet works. 01:04:22.920 --> 01:04:23.160 Right? 01:04:23.160 --> 01:04:26.160 The laboratory that we have, that is Earth. 01:04:26.800 --> 01:04:28.200 And so that was really helped to me. 01:04:28.200 --> 01:04:32.120 But, I haven't had the other opportunity to just like if I was to dive 01:04:32.120 --> 01:04:35.720 into planetary exploration or science, you know, 01:04:36.880 --> 01:04:40.320 or some kind of, you know, spacecraft engineering, 01:04:40.320 --> 01:04:43.720 you know, picking a different discipline to see how that would have played out. 01:04:43.720 --> 01:04:43.920 Right. 01:04:43.920 --> 01:04:46.920 That's the fun thing about everybody's career path is 01:04:47.960 --> 01:04:50.640 it's it's hard to look back and second guess things. 01:04:50.640 --> 01:04:54.080 And then I just to give that perspective of my career, 01:04:54.080 --> 01:04:58.640 I felt it was really good to have the, the foundation of geology 01:04:58.640 --> 01:05:01.640 to then build upon for, for looking at other planets. 01:05:03.240 --> 01:05:04.520 And that's a great response. 01:05:04.520 --> 01:05:09.520 And, you know, making sure an individual does things that works 01:05:09.520 --> 01:05:13.760 best for them as you navigate through that career pathway. 01:05:13.760 --> 01:05:16.760 And there's never just one right answer. 01:05:17.960 --> 01:05:22.520 To get to a couple of other questions, anyone who wants to jump in on this one, 01:05:22.680 --> 01:05:27.080 here's a question about what was your experience of transitioning 01:05:27.080 --> 01:05:32.000 from school to the professor research environment? 01:05:32.240 --> 01:05:35.480 And do you ever have to deal with imposter syndrome 01:05:36.440 --> 01:05:36.800 anymore? 01:05:36.800 --> 01:05:39.240 I want to take a stab at that. Okay, I. 01:05:39.240 --> 01:05:42.240 I can totally take a stab at that. 01:05:43.200 --> 01:05:45.320 It was hard. 01:05:45.320 --> 01:05:48.200 You you're on one side, basically, 01:05:48.200 --> 01:05:51.280 and suddenly you get thrown on, like, the exact opposite end. 01:05:52.880 --> 01:05:56.720 You know, becoming professional researcher, mentoring. 01:05:57.360 --> 01:06:00.240 Suddenly you had to teach students, right? 01:06:00.240 --> 01:06:03.560 In something that I had never even taken a class myself in. 01:06:04.760 --> 01:06:06.960 Do I deal with imposter syndrome? 01:06:06.960 --> 01:06:08.960 Yes, I do. To this day. 01:06:10.120 --> 01:06:11.680 Do I think that I'm not good enough? 01:06:11.680 --> 01:06:14.440 Yes, I do, and then I look up into the Moon, 01:06:14.440 --> 01:06:16.360 into the sky and see the Moon and be like, nope. 01:06:16.360 --> 01:06:19.360 Like, this is how I got here. It's okay. 01:06:19.360 --> 01:06:23.600 I think dealing with imposter syndrome is something that's very common. 01:06:23.640 --> 01:06:26.640 In our field, 01:06:27.200 --> 01:06:29.560 in the sciences and in the planetary sciences, 01:06:29.560 --> 01:06:32.640 I have a lot of friends and colleagues, male and female, 01:06:32.640 --> 01:06:35.440 and, and on the spectrum that 01:06:35.760 --> 01:06:37.640 feel very similar. 01:06:39.720 --> 01:06:43.120 It it's just something we deal with and 01:06:43.680 --> 01:06:47.920 we talk about it with our friends and colleagues. 01:06:47.920 --> 01:06:51.120 And we remind each other 01:06:51.120 --> 01:06:54.120 that that is just something that 01:06:54.520 --> 01:06:58.280 is a leftover or your subconscious reminding you, but it, 01:06:59.120 --> 01:07:02.120 that it's not true, but it also helps us 01:07:03.800 --> 01:07:05.000 stay on our toes and, 01:07:05.000 --> 01:07:08.000 like, continue to learn. 01:07:08.280 --> 01:07:11.280 And so, yeah, it's hard. 01:07:11.520 --> 01:07:14.240 But but again, it's a learning experience transitioning from 01:07:14.240 --> 01:07:17.240 being a student to being on the other side and being the mentor, 01:07:18.360 --> 01:07:21.360 you know, and being there for other students. 01:07:21.680 --> 01:07:23.280 And as long as you 01:07:23.280 --> 01:07:27.000 enjoy challenges and new things and learn new things, 01:07:27.360 --> 01:07:31.000 you're good and imposter syndrome exists. 01:07:31.000 --> 01:07:32.680 I have it. A lot of other people have it, 01:07:34.440 --> 01:07:35.640 and that's okay. 01:07:35.640 --> 01:07:38.120 You just deal with that. 01:07:38.120 --> 01:07:41.120 Just don't let it dictate your life because 01:07:42.160 --> 01:07:43.880 you can do it. 01:07:43.880 --> 01:07:46.920 Whatever it is that you want to do, don't let them tell you. 01:07:46.920 --> 01:07:50.960 Don't let yourself tell yourself that you can't do it because you can. 01:07:52.920 --> 01:07:54.400 Well, we appreciate that. 01:07:54.400 --> 01:07:58.880 That, you know, having that confidence and building that confidence 01:07:59.400 --> 01:08:03.080 and surrounding yourself with people who believe in you and support 01:08:03.080 --> 01:08:08.120 you and help you follow whatever your dreams may be, 01:08:08.120 --> 01:08:11.640 because no one can do it other than you yourself. 01:08:12.000 --> 01:08:15.640 But having support around you can be really, really helpful. 01:08:16.240 --> 01:08:19.400 Any any other additions or comments to that one? 01:08:20.480 --> 01:08:23.360 I can add? 01:08:23.360 --> 01:08:27.960 So I definitely still struggle with that as well. 01:08:27.960 --> 01:08:33.040 So it's it's kind of reassuring that to hear that other people do too. 01:08:33.040 --> 01:08:36.200 Obviously it's not something I would love for my, 01:08:37.400 --> 01:08:38.200 friends to deal 01:08:38.200 --> 01:08:41.200 with, but we're all working on it. 01:08:42.200 --> 01:08:43.160 Something, 01:08:43.160 --> 01:08:46.400 two things that I've started to do that I think it's helping me with. 01:08:46.400 --> 01:08:50.200 It is one, sometimes 01:08:50.680 --> 01:08:54.320 I get in my head so, so much that I just completely freeze. 01:08:54.320 --> 01:08:59.360 So I pretend to be, you know, I'm like, okay, it's time to be Professional Sara. 01:08:59.720 --> 01:09:04.040 We're going to let's like this superhero I've created almost being 01:09:04.040 --> 01:09:08.160 Professional Sara, you're going to kill it for 30 minutes and then it's over. 01:09:08.400 --> 01:09:10.360 And then afterwards I'm like, well, 01:09:10.360 --> 01:09:13.240 you know, that was actually, you know, not just Professional Sara. 01:09:13.240 --> 01:09:15.600 So it's helping me get that confidence. 01:09:15.600 --> 01:09:19.080 So one day we will be meshed together as one. 01:09:20.240 --> 01:09:23.960 And then also, I have been trying 01:09:23.960 --> 01:09:29.400 to kind of be that reassurance for other new folks like join the team. 01:09:29.400 --> 01:09:33.280 So like, I know what I would have loved to hear, 01:09:34.080 --> 01:09:36.720 as someone who started and had, 01:09:37.920 --> 01:09:38.360 so much 01:09:38.360 --> 01:09:41.880 anxiety about being in the professional world and not fitting 01:09:41.880 --> 01:09:46.200 in, so that when new people join my team, I like to make sure that I'm 01:09:46.200 --> 01:09:50.480 that little fly in their ear saying like, you got this, you can do it. 01:09:51.960 --> 01:09:53.800 It's because 01:09:53.800 --> 01:09:56.800 helping them navigate through it too. 01:09:57.840 --> 01:09:58.800 That's fabulous. 01:09:58.800 --> 01:10:02.680 And support systems are really, really so, so important. 01:10:02.680 --> 01:10:05.120 It really does take a village. 01:10:05.120 --> 01:10:08.920 Well, I think we have about time for one quick last question 01:10:08.920 --> 01:10:12.840 and I'll ask Sara, then Juliane and then Trevor to answer this. 01:10:13.560 --> 01:10:17.400 And the question is if you were to identify 01:10:17.920 --> 01:10:21.440 any important coursework or skills 01:10:21.880 --> 01:10:25.840 to help students pursue a future, 01:10:25.840 --> 01:10:29.800 whether it's a Stem career or any career, what, 01:10:30.880 --> 01:10:32.960 perhaps 2 or 3 skills 01:10:32.960 --> 01:10:35.960 or coursework would you recommend? 01:10:36.120 --> 01:10:39.120 Sara will throw that right out to you for starters. 01:10:39.160 --> 01:10:39.680 Okay. 01:10:42.080 --> 01:10:43.400 Personally, I think 01:10:43.400 --> 01:10:46.400 having the skills of communication. 01:10:46.480 --> 01:10:50.600 So maybe not public speaking, but interpersonal communication, really 01:10:51.840 --> 01:10:54.120 figuring out how to talk to other people, 01:10:54.120 --> 01:10:57.120 especially if you want to be in a leadership role one day. 01:10:57.880 --> 01:11:00.880 And then another skill which 01:11:01.160 --> 01:11:03.440 I think all of these could be integrated 01:11:03.440 --> 01:11:08.160 into a coursework type class, but a skill that I feel like 01:11:08.640 --> 01:11:12.400 all three of us, who presented today have is adaptability. 01:11:12.720 --> 01:11:16.680 So being able to adapt and try new things and, 01:11:18.120 --> 01:11:21.920 you know, if something doesn't work, being able to wiggle around 01:11:21.920 --> 01:11:25.040 and be able to get to the end result still is, 01:11:26.880 --> 01:11:28.040 is a really good skill 01:11:28.040 --> 01:11:31.680 that we've probably built up over our careers. 01:11:31.680 --> 01:11:34.680 And I think those are my two main ones. 01:11:35.680 --> 01:11:36.240 Excellent. 01:11:36.240 --> 01:11:38.120 Juliane, how about you? 01:11:38.120 --> 01:11:40.720 Yeah, I'm going to I'm going to add, 01:11:40.720 --> 01:11:43.560 to what Sara said, because those are great answers. 01:11:44.880 --> 01:11:46.080 I think 01:11:46.080 --> 01:11:51.880 courage to do things that are hard and that are scary and to do them anyways. 01:11:51.880 --> 01:11:53.480 I think is, 01:11:53.480 --> 01:11:56.480 an important skill in life in general. 01:11:56.640 --> 01:11:59.640 But especially. 01:12:01.080 --> 01:12:04.080 For like, a career path like ours. 01:12:05.640 --> 01:12:10.800 I think the ability to find joy 01:12:10.800 --> 01:12:14.000 in learning and find joy in 01:12:15.280 --> 01:12:17.760 knowing that you don't know everything, 01:12:17.760 --> 01:12:20.760 and then pursuing. 01:12:22.120 --> 01:12:25.160 That, oh, I'm really not good at public 01:12:25.160 --> 01:12:28.160 speaking, so I should learn how to do it better. Or, 01:12:29.160 --> 01:12:32.160 you know, here's the skill set that I don't have yet and, like, 01:12:32.240 --> 01:12:35.240 understanding what you don't know. 01:12:35.360 --> 01:12:37.760 And then going forward with that, which 01:12:37.760 --> 01:12:40.760 I guess you could wrap into, like, perseverance, maybe, 01:12:42.080 --> 01:12:45.080 not giving up, I think is really important. 01:12:47.880 --> 01:12:52.280 And trying to listen to yourself and your gut and, 01:12:54.240 --> 01:12:56.600 bringing being, like, 01:12:56.600 --> 01:13:00.120 true to yourself and having integrity, 01:13:00.720 --> 01:13:05.520 I think are are important skill sets that will help you 01:13:06.720 --> 01:13:09.720 reach wherever you want to go. 01:13:11.880 --> 01:13:13.800 Fabulous, fabulous. 01:13:13.800 --> 01:13:15.000 Thank you Juliane. 01:13:15.000 --> 01:13:17.160 And Trevor, how about you? 01:13:17.160 --> 01:13:18.320 Yeah, those are all great. 01:13:18.320 --> 01:13:20.600 I would add teamwork. 01:13:20.600 --> 01:13:23.760 You know, we do all this stuff, all the things that we showed 01:13:23.880 --> 01:13:28.800 from probably watermelon picking to, you know, scuba diving. 01:13:28.800 --> 01:13:32.720 You're always with a team, a buddy, somebody that is helping you 01:13:32.720 --> 01:13:33.800 along the way. 01:13:33.800 --> 01:13:38.880 And specifically for the Artemis mission, we are doing this as a massive team. 01:13:39.520 --> 01:13:43.400 And it, you know, and every little team member matters. 01:13:44.160 --> 01:13:47.640 And it goes to what Sara said, you know, communication between team members. 01:13:48.160 --> 01:13:50.680 And so specifically how that, you know, 01:13:50.680 --> 01:13:53.880 applies to coursework that students may be looking at right now. 01:13:53.880 --> 01:13:57.600 You can apply that to any course that you're in, any project, 01:13:58.160 --> 01:14:01.600 any kind of things, like, I would encourage folks to look at ways 01:14:01.600 --> 01:14:05.840 to team, to challenge themselves, to team better with team members, 01:14:06.720 --> 01:14:10.040 reach out to team members that you may not always agree with and you know 01:14:10.040 --> 01:14:14.760 and figure out their perspectives on, on the world or the project. 01:14:14.760 --> 01:14:17.440 You know, many different scales of teamwork. 01:14:17.440 --> 01:14:21.160 And so that's the one that I would add to awesome ones that are already mentioned. 01:14:23.200 --> 01:14:23.560 Well, we 01:14:23.560 --> 01:14:27.080 appreciate your all three of your thoughts on that. 01:14:27.080 --> 01:14:30.440 And, you know, it is, as we bring this 01:14:30.440 --> 01:14:35.760 to a close, as we're a few minutes past 15 minutes, after the top of the hour, 01:14:36.080 --> 01:14:40.440 you know, that the teamwork, the communications, working with others, 01:14:40.440 --> 01:14:44.440 adaptability, creativity, integrity 01:14:44.760 --> 01:14:49.400 and hard work, you can't get anywhere without hard work. 01:14:50.080 --> 01:14:55.320 And putting yourself, and delving yourself into any endeavor 01:14:55.480 --> 01:14:58.520 you're aiming to, to pursue. 01:14:58.520 --> 01:15:03.880 And I think each of our speakers today showed how they work their way 01:15:03.880 --> 01:15:08.320 through a non-linear path, through lots of positives, 01:15:08.320 --> 01:15:13.560 through lots of challenges, and through finding something 01:15:13.720 --> 01:15:17.920 that they can do on a daily basis to be able to contribute 01:15:18.240 --> 01:15:21.160 to NASA science, to NASA's mission 01:15:21.160 --> 01:15:26.360 to help others that are, you know, thinking about their future careers. 01:15:26.600 --> 01:15:31.520 And so, we appreciate each of our three speakers. 01:15:31.640 --> 01:15:37.160 We appreciate all of you out there that are listening to this, webinar, 01:15:37.160 --> 01:15:40.360 whether it's the live webinar or the recording. 01:15:40.640 --> 01:15:44.680 And we are also appreciative of Rossina Miller, who's on the line 01:15:44.680 --> 01:15:46.160 working in the background. 01:15:46.160 --> 01:15:50.040 She's part of our team as we're doing this webinar as well. 01:15:50.320 --> 01:15:53.640 So, with that, since we're 01:15:53.640 --> 01:15:57.560 at the end of our time together, thank you. 01:15:57.560 --> 01:16:01.880 Sara, Juliane and Trevor, all of you, Rossina, 01:16:02.040 --> 01:16:05.760 and we look forward to having some of you out there joining 01:16:06.720 --> 01:16:08.280 us perhaps some day 01:16:08.280 --> 01:16:11.960 working as part of our NASA science endeavors. 01:16:12.680 --> 01:16:15.760 As we continue to explore and keep learning. 01:16:16.080 --> 01:16:18.240 So thank you, everyone. 01:16:18.240 --> 01:16:21.480 We look forward to connecting with you again in the future. 01:16:22.080 --> 01:16:23.680 And thank you, Paige, for leading us. 01:16:23.680 --> 01:16:26.000 This was fantastic. And thanks everybody for coming.