For me, it's always been an intrinsic part of my life; I always recall being deeply interested in science and the world around us. Probably, the genesis of it for me is PBS and many shows like Nova and 3-2-1 Contact. Plus, growing up with the space shuttle doing regular trips helped a lot, too. I wanted to be an astronaut. The biggest moment in my life that solidified it all was when I was in high school and was able to get into a special national program that brought together high school students with scientists. I eventually ended up at Goddard for the summer, and then I got invited back for followup programs several summers afterward: working at JPL with scientists and the astronauts at Johnson. Many things have happened after that, but I'm really grateful for the experience. It helped a small town Ohioan to get out and see the world, and helped make me who I am today.
Wow, that sounds like a phenomenal experience! Are you still associated with JPL? What are your thoughts on Curiosity mission so far?
Thanks! I'm not there currently. I did consider it as a place I wanted to return to after I was done with my degrees, but I ended up someplace just as good. While it's not space science, we still do a lot of fundamental science for the public good. I try to keep track of my scientist friends that helped me, but some of them have moved on from JPL. I did have a chance to meet Sally Ride, too, as she was part of one of the projects I worked on as a high school student and undergraduate. I'm so grateful to them and what they did for me. I guess you can say I was a success story of science education. I think all of the JPL missions are great; I don't know if I really have anything profound to say other than I find the images and new science that they are discovering about Mars just really phenomenal. It makes me proud that I used to be part of the organization.
I can definitely understand why you feel pride after having worked for JPL. Here were some of my thoughts about Curiosity after their big announcement in December.