Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work at NASA? Across the country, NASA interns from high school to graduate students are using their creativity and innovation to work on real NASA missions. Join us on Thursday, July 29th at 3:00 p.m. ET for National Intern Day, where you will hear from our very own interns on how you can join the NASA family. Send in your questions using #askNASA.
Elio Morillo is the host for this episode and a Mars 2020 Test and Operations Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Elio started his NASA journey as an intern working on the System Testbed for Mars 2020. After he completed his master degree, he accepted a full time position. He says his favorite part about working for NASA is being able to showcase the amazing work his team is doing on Mars and inspiring future generations to pursue a career in STEM. In his spare time, he mentors students and participates in STEM outreach programs. He also loves exploring the culinary scene in Los Angeles, Latin dancing, surfing, and hiking!
Annalise Giuliani is a NASA Internship Program Coordinator at Johnson Space Center. Annalise began her NASA journey as an intern in 2016. Shortly after graduating from college, she packed her bags and moved to California where she worked as the Multimedia Coordinator at Armstrong Flight Research Center. Several short years later, she moved to Houston, Texas to work as an Internship Coordinator at Johnson Space Center. She says her favorite part about working at NASA is working alongside individuals who come from such diverse backgrounds and professions. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, photography, and spending time with her friends, family, and her yellow lab, Gracie!
Albert Kodua is a NASA Student Airborne Research Program Intern at Armstrong Flight Research Center studying California wildfires using NASA satellite imagery. Albert’s favorite part about interning at NASA is the sense of community. He says it's really nice to have a built-in network of people who want him to succeed and grow. Albert is currently going into his senior year as a Materials Science and Engineering major at Virginia Tech and is the Launch and Early Operations sub-team lead of one of Virginia Tech’s premier rocketry design teams, the Orbital Launch Vehicle Team.
Maria Pena is a remote summer intern at Armstrong Flight Research Center. There, she is working on developing object detection for autonomous Unmanned Aircraft Systems obstacle avoidance. Her favorite part about being an intern are the various NASA intern events. In her spare time, she likes to take portraits and nature photographs. One piece of advice she’d like to share for anyone wanting to become an intern is to always try. Never limit yourself, and push past your comfort zone.
