Name: Kendyl D. Spriggs
Title: Pathway student
Organization: Code 140, Office of Chief Counsel, Office of the Director
What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? How do you help support Goddard’s mission?
Student Kendyl D. Spriggs is on the right path.
My senior year of high school, five years ago, I went to school half-time and worked half-time in the Office of Chief Counsel as a stay-in-school student in what became the pathway program. It was really cool to be able to say that I worked for NASA while I was still in high school.
Currently I’m majoring in business at Prince George’s Community College. I hope to start my own business someday.
What do you do for the Office of Chief Counsel?
I mainly track all the actions that come through the office, offer non-legal informative assistance to clients, manage the legal library and take care of all the little details to make the office run smoothly.
What is your favorite part of your job?
I like interacting with people from across the center. I’m the first line of communication, the first person clients see and talk to when they come to our office. I’ve gotten to know all kinds of people across the center. Goddard really is like a family.
What is your favorite thing to do at Goddard?
I love the new bike share program and bike trails. Any time I see a free bike at lunchtime, I hop on it and start riding. On a sunny day I even deliver and pick up mail by bike.
What do you hope to be doing in five years?
I will have a college degree by then, hopefully. I love NASA and hope to remain here. And I hope to start a landscaping business and move out of my parents’ home!
What is the one thing you would tell somebody just starting their career at Goddard?
Get to know as many people as you can. Goddard is rich with personality.
What advice would you give students?
Know what you want to do. When you’re young, older people often want you to follow the path they did. They have your best interests at heart, but you have to follow your own heart. Do what’s right for you. Do the best you can and in the end others will respect your decision.
What is the coolest thing you’ve ever done as part of your job at Goddard?
Most recently, I introduced Dr. Freeman Hrabowski III, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, as the keynote speaker for our 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. event. He had many degrees behind his name. TIME actually named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012.
It was so cool to be on the same stage with him. He even mentioned me a few times in his speech.
He spoke about the importance of education. His message was that even if someone starts off with less than others, education is the great equalizer. I wholeheartedly agree.
How has working around scientist and engineers influenced you?
I didn’t used to be into science, but now I am. I learn best by seeing and touching, so I enjoy attending Goddard’s community days where I can walk through many exhibits and talk to the different scientists. Goddard has given the opportunity to see science in action.
What is one of your favorite quotes?
I love Einstein, not so much because of his achievements in science, but because of his clever quotes. One of my favorites is translated into English as, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.”
What makes you happy?
When I see Godly qualities like love, patience and self-control in others and in myself.
By Elizabeth M. Jarrell
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage.
