“There are obvious highlights [about my job] and then there are some highlights that I didn’t really see coming. It’s such an honor to be just one person behind the scenes supporting the crewmembers while they’re up in space and focusing on their missions. It’s such an honor to be a part of them accomplishing their mission. The first time I got a call from space was a major highlight. Every call I’ve gotten from space since then has never gotten less exciting. The fact that I am continuously communicating with people who are living and working on the International Space Station — it’s just very surreal, it’s very mind-blowing still to this day even though I’ve been in this role for several years now.
“But one of the highlights that I didn’t necessarily see coming is that a lot of the crewmembers have become mentors to me now. I look up to them for so many different reasons. And we have such a diverse corps that there’s really unlimited wisdom that I can take from listening to each crewmember’s story and from working with each crewmember. They show so much humility and perseverance. Hearing stories about their failures and their successes, watching them problem-solve and even problem-solving with them, has made me grow to be the kind of individual that I think I always wanted to become. I just never knew that I would have the opportunity to have these kinds of mentors to actually help me become that person.”
— Stephanie Fernandez, Social Media and Outreach Specialist for the Astronaut Office, Johnson Space Center
Image Credit: NASA / James Blair
Interviewer: NASA / Thalia Patrinos