(C) NASA
This story was originally published by NASA and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



February 2013 – Women@NASA [1]

[]

Date: 2022-09

What inspired me to apply to DEVELOP was a desire to grow professionally and I saw DEVELOP as an opportunity where I could learn something new every day. DEVELOP promotes STEM and with my science background it is a good fit for me because I am learning and gaining work experience while I complete my studies. One of the things that made it very appealing to apply was the fact that I would be learning new techniques through software such as ArcGIS and other tools that I didn’t know and I was able to learn. Also, DEVELOP allowed me to meet a lot of cool and interesting people that helped me through the learning process. DEVELOP helps communities (both domestic and international) to address their environmental issues with the aim of enhancing policies and decision making.

Earth science has always interested me even as a kid, it was very interesting to learn how planet Earth works and to understand how one person can do little things to help our planet. For me remote sensing and the use of satellite data are particularly valuable and these areas are what interest me the most. You can use all the data to illustrate how changes occur in different parts of the world. By applying NASA satellite data and tools we can see which areas of our planet are being affected and we can perform research that will lead to well informed decisions on what different countries can do to restore these areas.

NASA helps me to understand how the planet Earth works and it has opened a lot of doors for me. I am able to learn something different every day. I am so proud to say that I am working with this organization because I believe I am helping make change for the better. I also find it interesting that I have the opportunity to do a lot more than just research. I am able to communicate with other people (clients, science advisors, researchers, etc.) in a professional way and learn how to develop both science and business skills by interacting with them.

I think every challenge that I face I accomplish and I always do my best to achieve it. I am in the process of acquiring my master’s degree while I continue working for DEVELOP and I think that I am in a great place. I work with amazing people and produce projects to help other countries. I love what I do and to do something that matters is my biggest accomplishment.

Can you describe a time when you had to make a difficult decision and what you learned as a consequence? Every day I have to make different decisions but one that was most difficult for me was to move to follow my dreams. I come from Puerto Rico and I was a little afraid that maybe I was trying to do something in my life that may not work and I wanted to succeed, I want to be someone in my life that does something to help the people of the world and that opportunity was in the United States working with the DEVELOP Program. It is not easy to be away from family, but when you really want something you have to go and get it. Now I have not only developed more skills professionally, but I have also gained another family. I learned to take the risk no matter what happens, because you always learn and gain experiences that will be useful further along in life.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://blogs.nasa.gov/womenatnasa/2013/02/

Published and (C) by NASA
Content appears here under this condition or license: Public Domain.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/nasa/