Photoshoot

Oh ya. And my awesome chaperone took photos of me and my friend Ashley in an informal PHOTOSHOOT. I'm excited to say that they are WAY better than my ssenior portraits. Haha. But hopefully, me and Ashley will get the opportunity to show off our photo skills in the next few days.

Calling Y-O-U

Can't believe it is our last week together. Mixed emotions. I am really excited to be going back to my loving family and friends but am so sad that spontaneity and crazy uncalled for fun is kind of going away with the summer.

This past week has been a blast... from eating at a Haibachi grill to going lazer tagging all the time, to meeting astronauts and finally finishing my DATABASE! It has been a TRIP... all of it. Our NASA In$pire CDs are all made up and ready to be distributed. Ke$ha and Tunak all the way home.

I've learned so much this summer... I feel like a 3 year old who has a sponge brain and can't hold it all in. And we've done so much and gone on so many adventures it just all seems like a blur. It's been a lot of fun, but it has also been nice to get to know and work with the blessed and brillent people that I've had the awesome pleasure of being with the past 7-8 weeks.

As my NASA adventure comes to a close here in the last week, I will try to bring home and reflect on all of the professional, intrapersonal, and experiential skills I've learned here. I hope that all of us NASA kids can stay in contact throughout our lives and never forget the honor that we had.

Much love, faith, and grattitude,
Olivia- NASA Girl On The Rise

The Girl With Kaleidoscope Eyes

Tonight--- life. I have come to the conclusion that this summer, wasn't a summer at all. It's not hot, sticky, smelly, and boring.

I think I've been kidnapped and taken to the stars for a little bit. Chilling on the tops of clouds... listening to the good ol'Beatles, chatting with my friends in NY and Chi-town from afar, learning about amazing missions to the stars and here on the good earth, going out with the gals and shopping for photo-shoots, buying aviator sunglasses, and eating ice cream-- all while throwing fears and worries aside and jumping off of the high dive again and again.

I'm pleased to say that the database has come a long way and is on it's last stage of development as well and workplace life is great as usual. I've made many an ally here at NASA and can't wait to check in and see what they're up to in a few months.

NASA's people all inspire me in different ways; from our project specialist and her incredible tales of the real pioneers- women in STEM, to our all star 'solar system' teacher/chaperone (who also manages to rock a champion attitude at all times), to our students-- who CREATE and PRODUCE and PERFORM like it's nobody's business, to my co-workers in our office (PhDs) who are brillient and have an incredibly enriched understanding of the world and can describe to me what it's like from an entirely new lens. Everybody here, is part of an eco-system that functions on a really high level but at the same time, everyone is smiling and really enjoying what they do. Let me tell you, not only is the attitude contagious and inspiring, but it makes my work with the database worth doing, and gives me encouragement to finish what I've started.

I am again, really blessed and really happy to be taking these million dollar steps in each and every million dollar moment (especially while I'm on base) and I hope that in the future I can explore other NASA centers and careers.

Other than that, my only complaints are of the food (or lack there of) and it's spotty nutritional value and the longing for my family and HUGS. HUGS are not as natural here for some reason... they just don't fly with the professional persona and engineering personality. For all those who remember how I used to not be a huggy person... well ya. That's out the window now and I do recognize how important a part that is... especially with the fam and the friends. So E-HUGS for everyone at home and out there in NY, LA, Northwestern, Chicago or wherever else you may be.

*Faith*
-Girl With Kelidescope Eyes

Anybody Hear Me

This weekend was a BLAST!

Our INSPIRE group got the chance to see the bodies exhibit in Cleveland which was AWESOME! I never knew all of the different processes that have to go smoothly in order for me to run.

Roller skating was also fun... I think I'm starting to get the hang of it! But perhaps even more fun than roller skating was SEGWAY tours! Riding a segway is WAY cooler than I orginally thought. It truly does feel as if it is an extension of your body after a while.

The evening landed us as Dave and Buster's, an arcade for adults. I won a stuffed polar bear and had fondue with a good group of kids who know how to have fun! While jamming out to Ke$ha on the way back to the dorms, I felt as if I could touch the sky.

I am so blessed to be a part of such an amazing group of teens.

Today, after a beautiful walk through Cleveland's Wade Park, we went to an Air Museum where we were able to learn about military planes and try on Air Force gear as well as see memorials and actual planes that we were allowed to get into. It was an amazing experience... but it didn't end there. We got to visit a man who made a 10th scale model of the Saturn V rocket... it was in his garage. We got ot see the plans and touch the rockets!

It was pretty incredible and after, we were treated to a gormet lunch at a Whole Foods Type place which had a mean pasta salad.

On the work side of things, it is database crunch time for me which gets me a little stressed but I am eager to finalize the draft of the database and present it to the risk management team.

The weather over in Cleveland is sunny and gorgeous (as usual) and all of us feel great to be alive and well.

I hope that everyone is well!

-Girl On The Rise

Ice Cream and Blood

So today was another eventful day at good ol' Glenn. I continued work on my database and presentations for INSPIRE. In addition, our office had a get together conversation surrounding the importance of the Blood Type Diet and Organic Peach Ice Cream in our office.

I was also able to enroll in an engineering class that is one day long on technical writing. I am going to be shadowing Ron next week at an Ares Thrust Vector Control, and I will be attending a Job Fair next week. I can't wait! Tomorrow we have our DLN presentations and I am going to the Cultural Luncheon...

Today, I also gave blood for the first time. Then we got to go to Wal mart.... which is always cool.

But after you give blood everything is a little cloudy and LOOPY. That's how I feel right now... but it's all good...I like being on the clouds. It's FUN.

Talk to y'all soon!

Love love,
Mess with the Mo Jo
-Olivia

Slow Show (PHOTOS)

The Lost Get Found

Hey everyone!

So, today was pretty jam packed and eventful from clouds to rain to a beautiful sunny evening. The NASA interns got a chance to hear from the director of NASA Mr. Boulden about what NASA's new direction will be. It was very interesting to hear about a rover playing host to two poor souls stranded on the moon for 6 months. =)

After we heard from NASA and senators, we piled into the van for a wonderful lunch at a local burger joint. Singing along to Ke$ha in the car, our lunch was full of laughter, kinship, and fun.

When I got back to my workplace, Leon and Sell gave me valuable insight as to how Co-ops and jobs with NASA work. After the valuable part of the conversation, Leon and Sell took a good 30 minutes explaining Aliens and Predators to me (apparently they are supposed to be really cool...???).

Our 21st century skills workshop today about thinking outside the box required the interns to create a catapult (which is ALWAYS fun)... and it was fun getting to see all of the other interns' ideas at work.

When we returned for the second time to our workplace (Avinash and I) we realized that there was a massive evacuation. Haz Gas. They had the fire trucks and ambulances and everything. Good stuff. Avinash and I have not died. Yet. Oh NASA.

Friday evening after dinner, the girls went shopping for roller derby get-up and I am proud to announce my first purchase of Victoria's Secret "Pink" clothing-- lime green sweat pants. We also got a bunch of other semi-rediculous looking clothing to wear for tomorrow at a local goodwill. After we shopped for clothes, we stopped off at the mall for initiation. I got my ears pierced under the name Olivia Rogers having my mother as Sam... it was cool.

I really like it here at Case. I'm learning a lot about life and what it means to cross-over to a different season of life for sure. Fun--- the right kind of fun... Work--- and a good work ethic... Independance--- and the responsability that comes along with it... Faith--- and letting go of nerves, apprehension, and fears.

Sometimes you just have to jump off of the high dive... and your heart... your heart will tell you whether it is ok or not ok... and I'm learning more and more to listen really closely to that voice that comes from the heart.

That's all for now!

Sincerely,
GIRL on the RISE

Holiday

I hope everyone had a restful and safe 4th of July! I was tickled pink that my family came to visit me in Cleveland. We spent much quality time together which was very nice. I'm happy to say that my whole family looks healthy and well.

I was especially happy to see my favorite dog, Lily (although I think she was a little confused-- jumping into suitcases-- making sure she's not left behind anytime). But, being with my family was awesome because after the three weeks on my own, I realized just how much I appreciate them (and how much they talk).

After I bid my family a fond farewell, we visited the zoo and then it was back to work. On tuesday we visited the NASA Great Lakes Science Center which was for the most part fun-- it's got nothing on the museum of science and industry but it was definitely a nice break from the usual. Today, I got 2 fantastic opportunities-- one was attending a briefing about nuclear fuel for rockets-- apparently we have metric tons of uranium on the tips of our fingers just waiting to be used up (eek). But I was also made privvy to the fact that when we were planning on going to Mars-- it wasn't going to be a nice week long escapade for the astronauts-- those poor souls would have to spend upwards of 590 days on the hostile landscape of Mars... who wants to fly?! That's my reaction too.

The other event was Leon's meeting... which was interesting becuase I got some insight into what all goes on to prepare for the audits... the next one is apparently in August. Things were getting so pressed for time that some of the employees suggested that they hide the "unacceptabe" materials and tools in a locked closet that the auditors couldn't get to. Haha... audits.

As for databasing on my project, it's coming along a lot better than I thought. I have a pretty solid foundation... and now it's just a matter of ironing out the MANY MANY kinks in the database. Hopefully by the end I'll have something that the risk management team and I can both be proud of.

For now, this is NASA Girl On the Rise signing off.

Check out my GLOGSTER at http://swimmeroa11.glogster.com/nasa-glog/

We are one tonight

So, last night was awesome! We got a chance to go ice skating (it's been YEARS) which was so much fun. Avinash learned how to skate (after quite a brutal beating from the ice). But were happy to wobble around in our skates and hold each other up.

After the team building at the rink, we went to Little Italy for some super gelato... and then played LAVA MONSTER in the park accross the way. It was a truly memorable experience. I'm really getting used to the group and am really happy that we are all getting along well.

Tonight, we'll have to crack down and get to work on our blog and vodcasts as well as expense reports. Lots to do... but tomorrow's FRIDAY. And then the fun starts all over again.

This weekend, I get to spend some time with my family which will be nice and I can't wait to see all of them and hear about how things are going at home.

Things at NASA are swell I guess... I'm still working on the database-really hoping I'll be able to finish and meet their standards by the end of my time here... 5 weeks left-eek!
I'll post pictures of our ever-awesome skating group later.
Hope everyone is doing well!

Love and Faith,
Olivia

Back Home

So today was pretty divided. It was a long day at work... very long... no real breaks except for lunch. But other than that, it was great as usual and the people are still awesome! My database draft is coming along well... I think this is the most I've used office programs in quite some time. It's nice.

After the work day, the sun was out beneath the cloudless sky and there was a breeze... just enough for a wonderfully clearing run.

I got the opportunity to talk to yet another incredible individual who has really opened my eyes in the matter of the 30 or 40 minutes we ran and I have lots to learn. There is something very powerful about people who are faithful and confident-- in inspires and motivates me to not only become more faithful, but more focused, and more self-confident.

I learn a lot around here... but I think that the most important thing I'm learning this summer is that I need go with the flow and realize that some things are not up to me. And some of the individuals around here have really got that down pat. I'm looking forward to learning more about how that works.

All for now,
Olivia

P.S.- Here is a picture of some of our crew.

City On Our Knees

Yesterday was AWESOME! The NASA Inspire bunch along with our collegiate Lercip friends went to Cedar Point and went on EVERY ride (I'm sure) and had the time of our lives. It was just flat out amazing. I finally conquered Millennium Force... for all those of you who remember our 8th grade escapade we weren't all quite as brave. For some in our INSPIRE group, these were the first coasters for them to ever go on. The day ended with a meal at a very family Italian restaurant which brought back family memories. We all had a great bunch of laughs on the car ride back at midnight.

While the day was excellent, I truly appreciated the time our group had to bond.

I can't say this enough, but living around such bright and motivated students is a truly INSPIRING thing. Right now, I am taking a quick break from my ACT studying and I know I wouldn't be studying if I were at home right now... but being here has put a lot into perspective.

Overall, the weather is beautiful here... haven't really had any showers (sorry Chicago folks). The pace is fast but different... I kind of like that though and wouldn't mind staying right here for the next few years.

Missing Friends and Family but loving NASA,
Olivia

P.S- People wanted to see my excellent co-workers AT NASA here it is.

From left to right we have...LEON, Ralph, and Ron
MORE TO COME on this hilarious but brilliant bunch.

Done!

So I finished my meeting... happy it's over, but I have another in about 2 weeks. Everyone was super nice and very eager to present input. I will be drafting this data-base in no time!

Both Ms. Brown-Houston and Ms. Shores came for the meeting which was awesome and Leon came too, and stayed the whole time! This meeting wasn't even for his division---He just came for moral support! He needs a gift card or at the very least a thank you card...

I got some great feedback from him afterwards too. He said I did a great job and one of the members there suggested that I skip my last year at high school, skip college, and get a contract with NASA so that if they need help naviagating or updating the database in the future--I would be able to help them. Haha. Ms. Tenteris was also pleased with the presentation and sent over information shortly after the meeting. YES!

On an entirely different note, I had a really deep conversation about life with one of my fellow interns today at lunch (those have been hard to come by lately). He's had a pretty complicated life situation from deaths in the family to moving from a different country, skipping school for 2 years to help work, living amoungst 8 children, learning an entirely new language, and getting to where he is now. It is really incredible how far he has come in his short, 20 year lifetime (so far). He's still got a whole life ahead of him to live and he will, no doubt, change the world. It was great getting a new perspective and a wonderfully inspiring story from this young man. Hence, NASA's INSPIRE group. But one of the things that I can really relate to in his story is the part about getting to this place... where I'm typing right now-NASA. And for some, their NASA may be a state soccer team, or a national hockey championship. For others it may be earning their PhD. For others it consists of working on healing people every day of their lives and for others yet it is the vision of bringing justice to the human race.

But I know that, at least in my life, my dream was half my work and half the work of God. I'm so blessed to have all of the people around me at work and outside of work, all of the support from my administrators and teachers, and of course my friends and family-- who I am forever endebted to for what they've taught me.

Now, if you are reading this and are like "She's databasing. How come she's so excited about that?" It's not just the databasing around here. It's the meetings, and the connections with AMAZING people, and the conversations with the engineers, and the shadowing in labs, and the presentations and everything. It's about a lot more than a database... and I couldn't be more stoked about anything if I tried.

On my off time during work, I do some ACT prep stuff here and there and I learn about aircraft from the SR-71 which can go 85,000ft in the air... in the STRATOSPHERE and one can see the curve of the Earth outside their window to what a STRATOSPHERE even is. One of my fellow interns is trying to teach me a little basic computer programming stuff too.

This weekend on our OFF--off work hours we will be going to Cedar Point... whoot whoot and hopefully we'll plan some NERF gun wars in between as well as a few quality movie nights.

For all those who are reading this INCREDIBLY long post and are looking for some drama, I am pleased to say I've got NOTHIN' for ya. Things around here are G rated and as clean as a whistle. I think just by living around these brillient kids my intelligence has gone up a few points. But, for all of those who know me well, I do perform best when in a G-rated enviornment and I can honestly say my view of the world right now is clouded with uniorns and rainbows figuratively speaking, but life is good here and people all seem to be moving in the same direction-FORWARD.

That's all for now,
Girl On The Rise

P.S.- I'll put some pictures on of my co-workers soon!For now, here is the 21st century video that all of us saw on our first Friday at the offices of NASA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_ehGLqzBVM

My Life Be Like Oooh Ahhh

Hey guys. Day 10 here. Today is presentation for the Risk Management Team--- Leon is coming for moral support though so I hope that'll make it OK.I'm so nervous... I just gotta get in the mindset you know. Anyhow, besides that, things are pretty great around here. Lots of frisbee and bowling and other fun activities that definitely WOULDN'T be approved of on school nights. Haha.

I'm really getting along with my co-workers well and they have a lot to teach me this summer. Yesterday we had an hour long discussion about math classes and calculus in college. A heated discussion about the usefulness of synthetic division. =) But I'm glad to know that ALL engineers hated social studies and can't stand to sit around and talk about a dumb book for a week.

Anyhow, I hope to keep in contact with the people in the office until their time on the beloved ARES rockets comes to a dead halt and gets shelved. So there's Ron who is very smart and he is buddy buddy with my other co-worker Leon who is a super interesting person-he had 11 cars! He'll answer just about any question I have. Then there's Cell, who is a big guy and is a gentle giant and is very soft spoken but brilliant. Then there is Maria who is traveling from Houston to Japan and leading the Connect project. There is also Linda, who brightens my day everyday because she is the most hilarious secretary EVER! And there are tons others that I'm forgetting right now that I laugh, work, and learn with every day. I really am blessed to work at such an amazing office and to be having the time of my life.

Talk to you all soon (after the presentation)!

-Girl On The Rise

Morning

It's Monday morning here at the Case Dorms... I'm just chilling waiting for everyone to be ready to leave for work. It's 6:55am so I'll make this one a quickie.

I'm very excited to go to work today because I get to make a presentation for the risk management team that I will present hopefully on Wednesday (and who doesn't love powerpoint?) Tomorrow we get the official tours of the facility as well, which should be cool.

Over the weekend, I send out lots of letters to people (LOTS of writing) and I saw many movies (Avatar, Toy Story 3 etc.) Of those, I have to say Toy Story 3 stole my heart... I was teared up by the end.

Other than the nerf gun fights (which are pretty intense), our group got a chance to explore Little Italy, and I got a chance to run with Amanda (our Student Advisor)... she is really a sweet girl and has a lot to teach and tell. I'm looking forward to learning from her, my mentor, Ms. Calhoun, and my chaperone, Samantha. They are all very well read and are among the most compassionate individuals I've met.

More to come later,
Girl On The Rise

Wow

Today was a fantastic day at work again. We did our 21st century skills workshop where we got to create our own school and cirriculum. Although the activity was a little bit dry, it was a great opportunity for the NASA INSPIRE crew to communicate. They are all very bright, intelligent, and most importantly MOTIVATED young men and women. They work hard and are well-spoken and fluid when put on the spot for presentations. Their incredible apptitude in computer science, physics, and math astounds me more and more each and every day as I feel good and bad growing pains that come along with this NASA Internship. Mostly though, I really am just taking all of the good stuff in. It is really incredible how much information one brain can hold.

The 21st century skills reminded me a ton of my time at home with my wonderful researcher and star student/librarian that I am blessed to have as my mother. There was a really great video that was shown on this (with great music) today at our workshop that I'll put a link to below.

I also attended a division meeting today on diversity and safety at the workplace. It was great because we watched "A Class Devided" which I had already seen in history class (never thought that class would ever come in handy but thank you Mr. Wright). I actually could contribute to the discussion because I had already seen it and a few extra interviews with the people from the movie years later.

I also got a very cute text from my mom. Apparently Lily(the dog) is taking up the swimmer role for the summer... and when I saw the picture of my girl swimming i was so proud. I miss her a lot (an my FAMILY and FRIENDS), but I try to keep positive outlooks in the back of my mind at all times and keep hiking up this seemingly ginormous hill. I have a long way to go this summer (first task being to take an 8.5 hour course and read a 400 page instructional text). But it is nice to have a hiatus here and there for meetings or presentations. All of which inspire and put me in a state of utter AWE.

I really cannot describe this internship in words any more because it is nothing like anything I have ever done in my life before. Bigger than my 5 mile runs, or 6000 yard swims. This is bigger than the pressures of New Trier and bigger than any trip I've ever taken.

The Independence is gratifying but is a HUGE challenge. I've learned that a smile and a good firm handshake always works well. That along with a suit and badge makes you on the A list (hopefully) for interns here at the Glenn Center.

Samantha is awesome... really easy to relate to and fun loving. I like that we all get along well as a group and for recreation night I think I might get a chance to run (how far is DABATABLE).

Peace Faith and Love,
Olivia

I'm HERE

So this was the second day on the job. The first day was awesome however exhausting. There is so much to learn and so much to do. It's like improvising all the time. No plan. I'm just beginning... the pen's in my hand... ending unplanned. I've met SO many influential people so to speak... NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING as I'm told is the credo of this place. Expectations abound. Lots of super motivated students who are very nice and easy to live and get along with. Hadley and Ash are my new friends here. They rock my socks off... The living is nice, i get my own room. I've done some decorating which is kind of coming along.

I met my mentor who is very nice and she took me out to lunch on the first day to the Olive Garden. My project is a little daunting-to create a database to store information on employees and the safety and risk tests they do on rockets. It is nothing like I expected. It's much cooler. I went to a presentation yesterday where we had many many many speakers who explained what the deal is. They said that there are no mistakes and it's no coincidence that I'm there. They said that 4/6 that are involved with NASA get asked back next year and that eventually they will have a job set up. There are various networking picnics and stuff. NASA's pretty sweet... lots of perks about being involved with the gov't. Wish I could give you all my new e-mail which ends in @nasa.gov but it's against policy.

Lots of safety safety safety. But the pace here is FAST and we're expected to keep running this marathon. Up at 5:30am and to work to bed as early as possible. When we can the CREW tries to have some fun... today we played a very competitive game of Ultimate. My co-workers at the office are also a ton of fun and spirit. They are just as into space stuff as I am.

One guy told me to go to this presentation for the Briefing of the Columbia disaster of 2003. Kind of like the engineer showing what went wrong and what steps were taken to fix it. There was some incredible footage from that shuttle mission and others as well as some pretty sweet-high definition photos from space and earth. It was a riveting presentation to say the least. I got his card and the guy who suggested that I go and he offered me a personal tour of their high speed-high impact chamber facility. He also gave me a poster of a shuttle mission (goin' in the room).

The opportunities are truly amazing here and I cannot express how BLESSED I am to be here. I feel every minute an attitude of gratitude (though it may sound like I'm all about myself in my blog, I'm really just trying to relate everything that goes on fro pretty much all of us here). If all I have to complain about is the food (which IS NOT good) I am an extremely blessed and lucky individual. I literally thank my (and EVERY) lucky star I see. It's nice to have those to count on when I miss my family and loved ones at home.

Faith and a WHOLE NEW OUTLOOK,

Olivia S. Armstrong
Intern, Risk &Project Assurance Division
NASA Glenn Research Center

Airplanes

So, I am an hour away from leaving home sweet home. Things are pretty quiet around here. I'm all packed and ready to go. I'm looking forward to new adventures and am terrified at the same time. Not a whole lot to do before I leave now. My brother had work this morning, so we've already said our goodbyes. It's interesting to think how things can change in the matter of a day. No more long, lazy, American days in front of the television set watching the midday news and listening faithfully to a sweaty but accurate, Tom Skilling speak the truth about the weather. I'll post everything that I'm up to on this site... my NASA blog isn't open to the public but, I can copy it into this blog (I hope). Anyhow,
This is NASA Girl signing off from Chi-Town,
Olivia