Caitlin Carrigan
When I was little, I always wanted to work for NASA (well, lets be honest.I wanted to be an astronaut). My oldest sister became a structural engineer and my closest was a huge NASA fan (posters and rockets in the backyard galore). So, you could say that my interest in science, engineering and of course, space flight, was inevitable.
A little bit about me.
I am 21 years old from Deptford, New Jersey. I attend Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, a well-known school in the Midwest, but I've found that it is not so well-known in Texas! A lot of people ask me why I chose Case and, specifically Ohio, to attend college. Honestly, I had a lot of reasons and among them was the feeling I got when I visited the campus for the first time - it felt right for me. But a huge part of my decision was Case's co-op program and their relationship with NASA. Where else would I get to experience two former astronauts as faculty members and the countless other professors that have researched with NASA?! I have come to love my University, and though it is small (much smaller than your average engineering college), I have become highly involved on campus. There, I am a tour guide, a member of University Singers, actively involved in the Society of Women and Engineering, the Director of Membership for the Student Turning Point Society, the Scholarship Chair of my sorority and a two-term representative for the Undergraduate Student Government. I was even able to attend the Leadershape Institute my sophomore year of college, a national program that targets university leaders and works to help them identify and give them the tools to excel in leadership roles on campus.
What have my co-op tours been like?
Working at Johnson Space Center has truly been the most amazing experience of my life. While this was always my dream, I never expected to actually achieve it and the ride to work every morning is filled with excitement and awe that I actually work at NASA! I am currently in the midst of my second tour. My first was in Environmental Control and Life Support Systems Training. There, I was very lucky to get a comprehensive introduction to the International Space Station. I was able to participate in some of the training that astronauts receive and become familiar with not only the life support systems, but the rest of the systems on station as well. At the end of my tour, I actually became a certified NASA instructor in the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Intro Lesson. I also was able to sit on-console and watch and listen as the astronauts of Expedition 12 took their first spacewalk. My group even sent me to a number of courses, on how to be an effective NASA instructor and Russian Language parts I
and IIA. I was able to do many amazing things in my group, and if you let me go on, I could write all day, but my favorite was observing and participating in astronaut training. One of my favorite memories was playing an "astronaut" crewmember from a visiting shuttle while my group members were training members of the ISS's Expedition 13 in their emergency responses. How many people can say that they stood alongside an astronaut and a cosmonaut and assisted in their training? It was truly a once in a lifetime experience!
I am now working in my second tour, this time in the Engineering Directorate. I am working with IVA (Intravehicular Activity) Flight Crew Equipment. We are responsible for much of the internal hardware, like tools and supplies, that the crew uses, both on shuttle and station. I am still new to the group, but I am learning so much about hardware, certification for flight, short deadlines and the way that NASA allocates its budget for each program. Hopefully, by the end of my tour, I will have worked on a number of pieces of hardware, including the safety wicket caps, which protect the Shuttle switches before and during flight.
The life of a JSC co-op.
One of my concerns about moving to Houston was "what will I do with my time?" It turns out, the question usually is "how can I fit in everything I want to do?" With so many co-ops, there is always one person (if not five!) who want to do what you want to do. All of the co-ops are from many different universities all over the country, so needless to say, there is always someone new and interesting to meet and spend some time with. I have done so many things here in Houston, its hard to name it all! There have been weekends downtown, camping trips, tubing down the Guadalupe River, days at the beach, shopping at the Galleria and in Galveston, seeing Broadway musicals in the city and even trips to College Station and Austin, Texas. Even here in Clearlake, the co-ops are always busy after work and on the weekends. We will have movie nights, game nights, bowling, dinners, and there is always an intramural sports team to join, whether it be with the other co-ops or with your group members. Simply put, the life of a NASA co-op is NEVER dull!
When I received that first phone call inviting me to move down to Houston and
become a NASA co-op, I was floored (I can still remember my family's reaction - my mom cried and my sister screamed). And while I was so excited to work at JSC, as someone who was fascinated with space flight for most of her adult life, I expected that my anticipations about working for NASA might be a little bit too high. Yet, I can safely say that working at JSC has far exceeded all my expectations and dreams. The projects that I get to see and am lucky enough to work on are challenging and exciting and the people here at Johnson Space Center truly love and believe in what they do. There is never a day that goes by that I don't feel fortunate to be a NASA JSC co-op!
If you have any questions for me about co-oping or Case Western's co-op program, I would be happy to answer them. You can contact me at caitlin.carrigan@case.edu.
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