I Never Knew What to Expect

By Chelsea Partridge, 2010 KSC SSE Intern

As I grow up and go on throughout my life, my experience with NASA INSPIRE is one I will always look back on and feel the same excitement and joy that I’ve felt throughout my time in the program. This is my second, and last, year in INSPIRE, and the program has blessed me with some of the greatest opportunities and memories in my life. I started the OLC when I was a junior, and participated in most of the activities, chats, and was active in the discussion boards. Through this, I met and talked with a lot of awesome people that had similar interests to me, which was something that I wasn’t really used to. Then, amazingly, I was selected to participate in the Residential Internship at Kennedy Space Center. This summer was, by far, the best summer of my life. I spent the summer in the Prototype Development Lab, working with some of the coolest people I ever met. I was able to see and go to many places within Kennedy that many people do not, and was able to do work and designs for the Shuttle Program and more. I never knew what to expect from day to day, because each day there brought something new and amazing. Interning at Kennedy created so many life-long memories and friends. And now, thanks to INSPIRE, I have the ambition to co-op and work with NASA someday- it’s the only thing I want to do! I am beyond grateful for how INSPIRE has shaped me, and am ever thankful for INSPIRE and their wonderful and caring staff. Thanks for everything you have done for me, INSPIRE. You have changed my life.