NASA Day 1

So the last few weeks, I had no idea whether or not I was going to have a senior experience. Congress wasn't doing anything, a bill hadn't been reached to fund the government, and even though I felt like I'd be okay, I wasn't sure. It happened once before during the Nixon administration I believe, and with Trump, anything is possible. Lucklily, I woke up knowing that the government wasn't shutdown and we were renewed through September. (See https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/nasa_shutdown_guide_for_employees_150925.pdf)

I went into work for my first day, picked up my badge at the security office, and went through the security gate, or so I hoped. I found Justin Schlanser, Matt Cummings, and a few other people there. They all met with their sponsors, but mine wasn't there. The security guard told me that my sponsor had to come down and get me for the first day. So he got a phone call, came down and got me, then I got my security badge, felt super cool, and then went to his building.

We started talking about architecture. He was showing me the airplane hanger and the 3D Cad designs of it, which were intricate and just astoundingly detailed. Then I had a few structural engineering questions, and I had trouble learning one key concept, until I understood it after he showed me a model.

Then, it was time for a meeting. We went to the meeting where everyone was relieved that they still had their jobs because Washington just barely pulled their s*** together in time for me to start my senior experience. I guess they wouldn't lose their jobs, but they would be put on furlough for the time being. The meeting was rather depressing. 4 people announced their retirement, and the government seems to be downsizing as it moves to contract work. All the new hires will be done internally, nobody new will step in. And that's when I realized the sad atmosphere that some people were in. On that same day, a few new people got promoted, so that was uplifting -ish.

The Glenn Research Center used to have 5,000 people when Tom, my sponsor started working there. Now, it's down to 2,000 as Tom keeps demolishing unused buildings. Now - I liked the idea of making one of the facilities a giant laser tag arena, but I suppose that's unprofessional. Especially for a government funded agency. The news would just take that and run with it.

At 11:00 I attended a meeting where we talked about a picnic. It was the most efficient meeting I've ever been to. Usually meetings are long, drawn out, and end up with one person talking and talking trying to drive home a point we already knew about. This was to the point, super productive. Like, my mind was blown. The meeting lasted only 15 minutes, and it wasn't boring. Like - no time wasted. I was astounded, and I hope to have that type of leadership if I become a boss. I'd like to meet her and discuss how she was able to do that so effectively. It was a meeting about a stupid picnic, but I learned so much from that meeting.

After that, I was introduced to some more people. There's someone running access control that I'd like to shadow sometime. I got to talk to the VR peeps including a Walsh Alumni at one of the labs. I put on an Oculus rift on, and immediately saw the awesomeness and I'm trying to find two people to split the cost with me and trade off every 4 months . It's $600 for the Oculus rift, and it was absolutely amazing.

I talked to a guy named Paul for a bit and his path to getting into NASA. He came right out of college, put in an application, put together a few projects and showed what he could do. Then he got a job doing what he loves for at least 10-15years now. He actually graduated with Mr. Rouge in the 90's, so that's pretty cool.

My only concern thus far was that I felt like I was more of a tourist than someone working. Perhaps it was because NASA is a highly specialized place, and although I will certainly try and help where I can, three weeks isn't a lot of time to work with. They could train me, but what's the point if I'm going to be leaving in three weeks. I didn't do anything today to really help NASA. On Wednesday, I'll make sure to offer my help wherever I can. When I work at places, I want to add value, and although I certainly am unqualified to do much of the work my sponsor or those around him do, I can try to help out where I can.