How did you get interested in your career?
Answer: I have always been interested in the stars and space since as far back as I can remember. Looking up into the night’s sky always gave me a sense of wonder and sparked my imagination of what might be out there. I memorized star maps, craters on the moon and the planets motions. I even remember putting on my dad’s welding helmet to watch a solar eclipse. My heroes growing up were the brace astronauts of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions, especially those men who gave their lives to further our understanding of the great expanses of space. As I grew up I wanted to make a difference in the space industry and help prevent some of the mistakes that happened along the manned spaceflight journey. I got accepted to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for Engineering Physics and never looked back. Once I graduated I applied to United Space Alliance and got a position to instructor here at JSC, teaching our fine astronauts, cosmonauts and flight controllers how to use the various communications systems onboard the International Space Station. It may not be solving engineering problems, but it turned out to be a dream job working directly with the men and women who get to advance our space knowledge, and I get to help them do that!
• What are some qualities and skills that make someone good at your job?
Answer: I think to successfully do this job you have to have patience and the ability to adapt the detailed, technical knowledge you have to a level that just about anyone can understand. That is not a skill that comes naturally to most people. Have you ever had a teacher who walked up to the board and started teaching advanced principles when you were in a beginner’s course? Believe it or not there are plenty of people out there that do that. As an instructor at NASA I have to be able to teach people from all backgrounds and cultures and it is extremely important that I know how to deliver my knowledge and information in a way that they can not only understand, but in a way that they will remember. That is also where the patience comes in. Sometimes I don’t always get through to my students right away, so I have to stay patient and be creative until I get the job done.
• What do you like most about your job?
Answer: I consider myself a space nerd so working in the space industry is pretty cool. Back when shuttle was still flying, I loved when I could take a break from my desk and go watch the launch on a big screen in one of the meeting rooms. How many people say they get to do that on a typical day at work? I also love working with astronauts. I have the privilege and the pleasure to work with some of the nicest and most interesting individuals so far. Currently I am the Expedition Lead for my instructor group for Expedition 34. They have been on the ISS since November of 2012. It is truly exciting to see those guys up there use what I taught them.
• What do you like least?
Answer: Sometimes the hours I have to work can be pretty bad. That is usually due to the fact that we work with other countries around the world that live in different time zones. In order to make large scale training activities a success, one or more of the countries have to work into the wee hours of the morning. On the flip side, because I am flexible with my hours, my company is also flexible when I need time off.
• How does your work affect people?
Answer: My work impacts the astronauts I teach. If I don’t train them correctly it could mean for a bad time onboard the ISS. I train them on the communications systems. If I do a bad job, then they can’t effective talk to the ground, and that is a bad day. Other people I affect are all the other men and women I train on a daily basis. I am not limited to training astronauts. I get to train other instructors, flight controllers, flight directors and any other person that wants to learn about what I do.
• What do you think is the biggest problem facing your job today?
Answer: The biggest challenge facing my job today is funding and public support. A lot of the general public is misinformed on the amount of money NASA really uses in the national budget. Each year there is a threat to cut back more and more of the space program, because we do not have the public support we need to continue as we did in the days of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo.
Answer: I have always been interested in the stars and space since as far back as I can remember. Looking up into the night’s sky always gave me a sense of wonder and sparked my imagination of what might be out there. I memorized star maps, craters on the moon and the planets motions. I even remember putting on my dad’s welding helmet to watch a solar eclipse. My heroes growing up were the brace astronauts of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions, especially those men who gave their lives to further our understanding of the great expanses of space. As I grew up I wanted to make a difference in the space industry and help prevent some of the mistakes that happened along the manned spaceflight journey. I got accepted to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for Engineering Physics and never looked back. Once I graduated I applied to United Space Alliance and got a position to instructor here at JSC, teaching our fine astronauts, cosmonauts and flight controllers how to use the various communications systems onboard the International Space Station. It may not be solving engineering problems, but it turned out to be a dream job working directly with the men and women who get to advance our space knowledge, and I get to help them do that!
• What are some qualities and skills that make someone good at your job?
Answer: I think to successfully do this job you have to have patience and the ability to adapt the detailed, technical knowledge you have to a level that just about anyone can understand. That is not a skill that comes naturally to most people. Have you ever had a teacher who walked up to the board and started teaching advanced principles when you were in a beginner’s course? Believe it or not there are plenty of people out there that do that. As an instructor at NASA I have to be able to teach people from all backgrounds and cultures and it is extremely important that I know how to deliver my knowledge and information in a way that they can not only understand, but in a way that they will remember. That is also where the patience comes in. Sometimes I don’t always get through to my students right away, so I have to stay patient and be creative until I get the job done.
• What do you like most about your job?
Answer: I consider myself a space nerd so working in the space industry is pretty cool. Back when shuttle was still flying, I loved when I could take a break from my desk and go watch the launch on a big screen in one of the meeting rooms. How many people say they get to do that on a typical day at work? I also love working with astronauts. I have the privilege and the pleasure to work with some of the nicest and most interesting individuals so far. Currently I am the Expedition Lead for my instructor group for Expedition 34. They have been on the ISS since November of 2012. It is truly exciting to see those guys up there use what I taught them.
• What do you like least?
Answer: Sometimes the hours I have to work can be pretty bad. That is usually due to the fact that we work with other countries around the world that live in different time zones. In order to make large scale training activities a success, one or more of the countries have to work into the wee hours of the morning. On the flip side, because I am flexible with my hours, my company is also flexible when I need time off.
• How does your work affect people?
Answer: My work impacts the astronauts I teach. If I don’t train them correctly it could mean for a bad time onboard the ISS. I train them on the communications systems. If I do a bad job, then they can’t effective talk to the ground, and that is a bad day. Other people I affect are all the other men and women I train on a daily basis. I am not limited to training astronauts. I get to train other instructors, flight controllers, flight directors and any other person that wants to learn about what I do.
• What do you think is the biggest problem facing your job today?
Answer: The biggest challenge facing my job today is funding and public support. A lot of the general public is misinformed on the amount of money NASA really uses in the national budget. Each year there is a threat to cut back more and more of the space program, because we do not have the public support we need to continue as we did in the days of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo.