Donna Lin...

Like many people, I never really thought I would be working at NASA. I dreamed of walking on the moon, but I had no idea how to make that happen, and I sort of forgot about that feeling as I went through high school and moved onto college. However, as fate would have it, I stumbled upon recruiters at a career fair in the spring of 2005, and suddenly found the opportunities that NASA's co-op program had to offer.

I was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico and raised in Sterling, Virginia and Gaithersburg, Maryland. I'm a die-hard 'Skins fan for life, and like most people from the Washington, D.C. metro area, I'll love the Wizards, Orioles and sometimes the Ravens no matter how badly they're doing. I'm now an alumna of The University of Texas at Austin.

If you'd asked me in high school if I could ever imagine myself in the heart of the Lone Star state, I would have laughed at you - but here I am! My experience at JSC has been particularly unique as a business co-op. I majored in Journalism; a route that I never expected would bring me to NASA. I even had to drop out of school in order to co-op, because my particular college at UT didn't have a co-op program.

Was it worth it? You bet, I'd drop out all over again (and I did, since the co-op program requires at least three tours)!

I started my first tour in January 2006 in the Office of Public Affairs,, which handles the external and internal communication efforts at JSC. I had many amazing opportunities in PAO, from writing feature stories for internal publications and global Web sites, to writing biographies and stories on real astronauts and escorting guests and film crews.

Here I am in the commander's seat of the Crew Compartment Trainer II.	Just another ordinary day in the Mission Control Center with some fellow co-ops

One of the least-expected experiences I've had while on my first tour came when a production company came to JSC to film a 4-D movie on the History of Texas. This movie is part of an entertainment ride viewed in 3-D, with motion-equipped seats (the "fourth dimension").. We were in the test director's suite in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, a large pool where astronauts conduct training simulations. The film director decided to put me in the movie, and I took a seat with an actual test director and diver, preparing to make my big-screen debut.

In my second tour during the summer of 2006, I joined the Engineering Resources Management Office, a group that handles the financial and business operations of an engineering group. I gained a working knowledge of the complicated financial systems that keep the chief financial officer's entire division running, handled requests for purchases, tracked spending and learned a great deal of how budget operations flow through the whole of JSC and the federal government.

The spring of 2007 was my last tour as an undergraduate co-op. I returned to the Office of Public Affairs and split my time with the Education Office. I had the unique opportunity to see how programs operate on the human resources and education side, and how Public Affairs assisted these efforts. In Education, I created training courses for mentors (who work with students) and student employees, designed a student employee handbook, and even assisted in selecting summer interns. In Public Affairs, I publicized STS-118 Educator Astronaut events, supported the Reduced Gravity program, and encouraged national media to fly on the C-9 (the agency's near-Zero g plane).

I hope to return as a graduate co-op in the summer of 2008. In the meantime, I'll be at the University of Maryland, working toward an MBA, marketing, and planning on graduating in May 2009.

With my tandem skydiving instructor at 14,000 feet!

Outside of our work world, once you join the co-op program, you'll become part of the co-op family. Two committees in particular keep us busy and connected: the social committee and the tours and lectures committee. Throughout my first tour, I've had the opportunity to meet some major figures in the human spaceflight program, including John Young, Gene Kranz and Chris Kraft.

We keep busy on the social scene, and there are always people interested in doing what you want to do. I became hooked on skydiving during my first tour, eventually making my first solo skydive! From the beach, to sitting around and watching a movie, you're too busy to stay still when you're on a co-op tour at JSC. We've got great softball, volleyball and soccer teams, and a group of us even went to New Orleans for an alternative spring break with Habitat for Humanity to help rebuild the Gulf Coast in 2006.

New Orleans 2006: Alternative Spring Break, Team 50 with Senator John Edwards in the St. Charles parish.	Some of NASA's finest suited up in protective Tyvek suits, getting ready to strip down a house.