Blog Post #2: A Time In My Life.

The time I felt I did my best is when I went to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.  The point of the trip was to attend the annual Space Settle Design Competition where we designed a plan for a space settlement using the parameters given by the judges.  In my first year I was a part of the Automation team which was in charge of creating plans for robots that would clean and do various tasks needed for upkeep of a space station, and also to plan out computer systems and other technological things needed.  I was a very important part of the team and that year we ended up winning.

For my second year I went I was in a group that had a lot of first year students and with my previous success and my seniority, I was chosen as Vice President of Engineering.  For this job I had to go around and help each engineering group with what they were in charge of.  I helped the Structure Engineers come up with an efficient design that was both cheap and productive. I helped the Human Engineers design rooms and living spaces because there are a lot of things that can easily get overlooked.  I was a main part of the Automation team because the team was comprised entirely of first years so they needed a lot of guidance and had A LOT of questions.  For this role I also had to set time periods for when things needed to be done by, I was in charge of making sure everyone was in-order and were on task.  I helped present the information to the other parts of the group and talked with the other Vice Presidents of each area come together to finalize our presentation.  I worked hand-in-hand with many NASA officials and went through some very high-level security clearance areas.

This opportunity helped me improve my leadership skills which are very important in any aspect of life as well as learning that when you step out of your bubble and volunteer for positions you are very much rewarded for your actions.  My second year team did not win but our C.E.O, Jack Bacon, said it was one of the best presentations he has ever seen.  I talked with the organizer of the Competition and have been invited to come back to the competition next year as a mentor due to my skills recognized by many people their.  I made some very valuable contacts with people from NASA and the competition also helped solidify my choice of Major, Computer Engineering.