Madhurita Sengupta...
Hola! My name is Madhurita Sengupta (but most people call me Madi), and welcome to my little space in
Co-op World!
A little bit about me.
I'm 19 (and my birthday's in November, which officially makes me the youngest co-op, at least this term!), and I'm in the middle of my 2nd year at the University of Texas at Austin, studying Electrical Engineering. I'm from Houston, so I'm living with my parents out in Sugar Land (about 35 miles out from JSC), and it's absolutely wonderful! Any college student will agree that the one disadvantage to living alone is not having mom there to help you out. I think I've got it made, because I'm working my dream job, hanging out with some amazing people, and still living at home where my mom packs me lunch. OK, I know I may be a little spoiled, but it's nice, you have to agree!
Me, NASA, and more particularly JSC.
This is my first tour as a co-op, but I've made my rounds here at JSC! I've always been interested in astronomy, the space program, and NASA. So it was only natural for me to try to get involved as fast as I could!
I was first involved with NASA and JSC through a program called Texas Aerospace Scholars (TAS), now called High School Aerospace Scholars. The program is designed for students at the beginning of their junior years in high school. A brief overview - you apply sometime early in your first semester; acceptance letters come sometime in November. Between then and about mid-May of your 2nd semester, you complete various online activities and chats that prepare you for your week at JSC during the summer. As clichéd as this sounds, that one week definitely changed my life! We met all these really cool people, visited all these really interesting labs, and we even got to watch an Apollo documentary at the historic Mission Control Center (used in the Apollo days). So if you're still in high school, and you're a freshman or a sophomore, or at the very beginning of your junior year, check out the program website (http://www.aerospacescholars.org), and get involved!
My next involvement with JSC was through the Gifted & Talented Mentorship Program in my school district (Fort Bend ISD). I interviewed for this program my sophomore year, and made it to the interview round, but failed miserably! I lived and learned and applied again the following year, wanting to go into the field of medicine, but TAS happened to me over that summer, and I did a 180, wanting to get into the aerospace field, instead. I completed a 20 something page research paper on the International Space Station (never thought it could span that many pages, did you?? Neither did I!) the first semester of that year; and I ended up working with Ron Sostaric, an aerospace engineer (who was one of our mentors for TAS) in the Advanced Mission Design Branch in the Engineering Directorate, for the 2nd semester. I worked on a project, which involved familiarizing myself with a software program called Satellite Tool Kit, which enables the user to map trajectories of satellites, shuttles, etc. It was a great learning experience, as well as an opportune way to get my foot in the JSC door! And I could not have had a better mentor to facilitate my transition into JSC world!
I've participated in a few other JSC-based programs throughout the past few years, which I won't go into details about now. If you want to hear about them, feel free to E-mail me, though!
And then this summer (2004), I'll be flying on board the KC-135, through the Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program. My team and I are working with a fairly new PC-based 12-lead electrocardiography machine, conducting EKGs on ourselves in parabolic micro- and hypergravity. I'm so psyched about this, and if you think this is something you might want to do, look for the program's website (you can access it through JSC's Education website - http://education.jsc.nasa.gov ), and get into it ASAP!
Applying for a JSC Co-op Position.
OK, now that I've more than likely bored you with my personal details, here's the good stuff. You want to know how to go about applying for a co-op position. Well, it's not that hard, really. I had first heard about the co-op program through my co-op mentor at TAS. He gave us perspective on what co-ops do and how to go about getting to where he was, and I was floored. I knew right then I wanted to do that when I got to college. Fast forward about a few months, I met Bob Musgrove for the first time at a TAS banquet during my senior year in high school. He answered questions about the co-op program one night right before the NASA Expo, and I was just reaffirmed in my desires to get into NASA co-oping in college. Now it was only a matter of time. I got to college, and finally submitted a resume at our annual co-op & intern fair. I got an E-mail about an interview a few weeks later, then the interview, and then weeks of waiting. I think patience is definitely one of the top virtues to possess when you're applying for these programs! I finally got word of my acceptance, and I was ecstatic. I was finally going to be co-oping, and my only other obstacle was the Fall semester of my 2nd year, then I'd be home free! Obviously I finally made it through (I think that was about the longest semester of my life.), and here I am, on my first co-op tour!
Working at JSC.
I'm currently working in the Engineering Directorate, in the Avionics Systems Division, in the EV5 Branch - Flight Hardware Development (I know, a mouthful!). My branch basically works on piecing together the circuit boards that go behind panels and inside equipment in flight. Since my branch is relatively new to the JSC organization, I'm currently working on organizing all of the processes that everyone goes through here, from vendor selection and bare board purchasing, to printed wiring board assembly and flight approval. I've had the opportunity to learn how exactly a circuit board is designed, laid out, built, and approved for use in flight in my first week, and it's been incredible! I'm also one of the heads of the Tours & Lectures Committee, which means I, along with my pal Katie Schomber, go around and bug people to talk to us co-ops or give us tours of their facilities. Only kidding - they do it willingly! I think that's the best part about working here at JSC.we're a part of a very big, but very close-knit family. Everyone is so incredibly nice and willing to help in any way they can. I love it!
Playing at JSC.
What fun would co-oping be if all the college kids didn't hang out?! All the co-ops are such amazing people, and we're our own little family. We have lunch everyday together (schedules permitting, of course.but there're always at least a few!), and hang out on the weekends. There is always something to do, so life never gets boring. Even though I live about 45 minutes away, I've still gotten a great taste of what this semester holds for me!
And so.
Well, I believe I've rattled on enough. If you're still unsure about whether you're really interested in co-oping or not, take this little story into consideration:
On the first day, a few of us went to the Expedition 7 debriefing, where Ed Lu spoke about his experiences on board the ISS. Soon after the debriefing was over, we got to meet the Administrator of NASA (Sean O'Keefe), and took pictures with the Director of JSC (General Jefferson Howell). Later on this semester, we should be meeting with various astronauts (like Franklin Chang-Diaz), as well as local NASA celebs (such as Gene Kranz - y'all should know him from Apollo 13). Only at NASA can you experience stuff like this!!!
If you want to know anything more, please feel free to E-mail me anytime - I love getting E-mails! During the springs and summers, you can reach me at madhurita.sengupta-1@nasa.gov; and during the falls, you can reach me at msengupta@mail.utexas.edu. Have a great day!
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