Episode 25: Jessica Chapman
08.08.07
: Jessica Chapman, NASA co-op student
(0:00) Intro
(0:19) Interview with Jessica Chapman. Texas A&M mechanical engineering student Jessica Chapman explains what she likes about participating in NASA mission simulations.
NASA Cooperative Education →
Johnson Space Center Cooperative Education →
Texas Aerospace Scholars →
NASA Johnson Space Center Co-op Bio: Jessica Chapman →
(4:30) The deadline for U.S. college students to submit entries to
NASA's lunar art contest → is Dec. 1, 2007.
(6:04) End
Send your comments or questions to:
educationpodcast@nasa.gov
> Back to top
Transcript
Deana Nunley: This is NASA Student Opportunities -- a podcast connecting high school and college students with learning opportunities inside America's space agency.
Episode 25. Aug. 8, 2007. I'm Deana Nunley.
Have you ever wondered if NASA has practice sessions before space missions, like a dress rehearsal before a school play? NASA goes through rigorous simulations, or sims, for short. And our guest this week is a student who's participated in NASA simulations at Johnson Space Center, where she's a co-op student. Jessica Chapman is in her junior year at Texas A&M and her third of four NASA co-op tours.
Jessica, how were you introduced to NASA?
Jessica Chapman: I wanted to work for NASA since grade school. My elementary school went to space camp for a weekend -- at least, my class did -- so that's how I first got introduced to it. After that, in high school, I did an aerospace scholars program that Johnson Space Center does during the summers. That's where I found out about the co-op program. Ever since then, I was like, "Ooh! I want to be a co-op!" So that's how I got here.
Deana: Have you enjoyed your experience with NASA?
Jessica: Yeah, I've really liked it. It's been a really good experience and you get to do a lot of neat stuff. It's a nice break from school. [laughter] And, yeah, it's very interesting.
Deana: Tell me about some of the most interesting things that you've been involved with, especially as a co-op.
Jessica: I try to make each of my tours as diverse as I can. So on my first couple of tours, I was working on the International Space Station side. That was interesting because I got to have a little bit of interaction with some of those international partners, which is pretty neat considering I'm just a student in college. So I really liked that. Right now, I'm in a flight control group, so I'm getting to participate in sims and stuff and see what a flight controller gets to do. That's generally some of the things I've been doing. And there are also lots of tours and lectures that the co-ops do. We see a lot of neat places and hear from some interesting people through that.
Deana: What's been your role when you've participated in the sims?
Jessica: Well, they've got me on one of their training flows. Basically, I go to the sims and I observe. I bring up all the same screens that they're looking at, and I run the calculations the same as they do. It's kind of like practice. I try to do what they're doing, basically just tagging along.
Deana: What do you hope to do as far as a career?
Jessica: Well, I hope to come down here to NASA full time. I would like to be in the mission operation side of things and do a little flight control. The international partners, it would be neat to get involved with them again.
Deana: What's the best part of working with the international partners?
Jessica: Well, I'm just interested in cultures, in general, so I think it's neat seeing how the other space programs are doing, and cooperating with them. I don't know. I guess the main part is, like I said, I think it's fun getting to work with other people from other cultures.
Deana: If you were going to give some advice to students that are considering applying, what would you tell them?
Jessica: Well, I would tell them that persistence is definitely the key. There are requirements you have to have to become a co-op, but do whatever you can do to get your face in there, get your name in the loop. Persistence has definitely, definitely helped me out. So I guess that's all that I would say. Just do your best in school and be persistent. If you really want to do it, don't get depressed if you get turned down once, because persistence is definitely a good thing.
Deana: Jessica plans to graduate in December 2008 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. You can find out more about her NASA activities and the co-op program by following links in this week's show notes. Go to
www.nasa.gov/podcast, and click on the NASA Student Opportunities podcast.
[Music]
NASA is sponsoring a lunar art contest and invites U.S. college students to submit their work based on the theme "Life and Work on the Moon." NASA encourages students studying industrial design, architecture, computer design and the fine arts to collaborate with college science and engineering departments to produce the most well-informed artwork possible. Entries will be accepted in three major categories: two-dimensional, three-dimensional and digital. Each category will have predetermined size limits. Contestants are eligible for cash prizes and certificates of achievement. The contest opens this month and entries are due by Dec. 1, 2007.
For more information about the lunar art contest, go to
www.nasa.gov/podcast. Click on the NASA Student Opportunities podcast, and follow the link in this week's show notes.
Be sure to stay up late the night of Sunday, Aug. 12, for an excellent view of the Perseid meteor shower. The moon is new on Aug. 12, which means no moonlight, dark skies and good visibility for seeing plenty of meteors.
We want to hear from you. If you have any questions or comments about NASA learning opportunities, send an e-mail to:
educationpodcast@nasa.gov
Thanks for listening.
NASA Student Opportunities is a podcast production of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
› Listen now