Reese Williams: On A Rocket To The Future
Saturn V
“10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1… Blast off.”
A quote from my mentor that changed my perspective as well as my future.
It was July 30th, the last day of my 10-week internship with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) hosted by the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). On this day, my mentors, MSFC’s own rocket scientists, launched a rocket they’d been working on for the past decade.
I wasn’t allowed to attend the launch because of security measures and COVID-19 restrictions, but I resigned myself in front of a TV to watch the live episode through the lens of a camera. From 1300 miles away, I could feel the rumble of the launch flutter throughout my body. It was like an energy force radiating within me from observing my mentor’s persona and, of course, my love for rockets. I would have never imagined the way someone else’s success could affect my emotions or impact my life in the profound way it was on the day of the launch. For this was the day that I would discover my calling and begin my quest to become a rocket scientist.
In order to fully understand my calling, one needs to rewind 16 weeks prior to this day. I’ve had a strong desire to pursue a career in the space industry for a while. I was considering summer options for areas in which could help propel me towards my goal. I decided to apply for a summer internship REU, a Research Experience for Undergraduates, that held a physics and engineering interest.
The opportunity seemed dismal, and I’d lost all hope on hearing back from this internship. After all, what program would be interested in a sophomore mathematics major from a small school in South Carolina? I believed most of those spots were reserved for physics and engineering students.
I was tired, depressed, confused, and anxious about my future. Sounds like any typical college kid, right? However, I was on the verge of collapse and was ready to give up on my dreams and aspirations. I cannot describe how close I was to throwing away everything that I had worked so hard for.
A week later, I was extremely dejected. I found myself on my knees next to the grave of my father. Though, this visit wasn’t like any ordinary visit. My dad had always been my biggest cheerleader and was a very wise man. It’s no wonder I went there searching for answers, some type of light, a compass for direction, or something to indicate that I was on the right path. I needed guidance and wanted to know my purpose in life. Clearly, life doesn’t come with an instruction manual, and I had no idea if I was doing it right. What was I supposed to be doing? I didn’t leave with a concrete answer, however, I left with an overwhelming sense of peace that everything would be okay.
The very next evening, I was in our school’s library crunching out some differential equations. “DING” and I looked at the notification on my phone. It read, “Congratulations! You have been selected for the UAH/CSPAR & NASA/MSFC REU 2021 program.” I thought to myself, “Am I dreaming?” I placed my phone down, waited a few seconds and when I looked again, I found the same message.
I sat motionless, losing my breath in disbelief. A trail of tears began to puddle between my eyes and cheekbones, rolling gently down my face. This was a dream come true, and at that moment, I realized this was the sign that I’d been searching for. This was my glimmer of light that gave me hope to prosper in the future. The rest of the semester seemed to breeze by as I was ignited with enthusiasm and the motivation to keep pressing onwards.
Fast forward to move-in week, I sat on my bed anxiously staring at my dorm apparel crammed into a small corner of my bedroom, questioning why I’ve unpacked all this stuff from my car in the first place. Doubt began flooding my mind as I started questioning my ability to be successful during this internship. “They chose 10 students across America, and I am one of them. Why me?” and other similar thoughts developed ruminating in my head.
I became apprehensive, imagining the 9 other candidates and how I couldn’t possibly measure up to them. What if I couldn’t keep up? Was I at a disadvantage because I wasn’t seeking a physics or engineering degree? I let doubt and insecurity take root as I focused on my weaknesses. The self-doubt exacerbated, and I started to question if I would fit in or if the other students would even like me.
When I arrived in Alabama, my housing situation was quite different. I stayed in an apartment-style dorm on the campus of UAH. I soon discovered that all the interns were staying on the same floor of this building, and two of them would be my suitemates.
I was the first to arrive at the apartment, and there was a jarring screech as I pushed open the door. The space was rather large: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, with a full kitchen, dining room, and living room. Excitedly, I began to unpack and settle in, but the exhilaration was coupled with trepidation as my questions, skepticism, and uncertainty returned.
After unpacking, I used Netflix as a distraction until I was startled by the jarring screech of the door. One of my suitemates had arrived, and I listened closely, as she was talking on the phone, speaking in a language that I didn’t recognize. Two hours passed; and I hadn’t come out of my room yet. I then heard aggressive strikes coming from the outside of our apartment door. Our other suitemate had arrived and couldn’t get the door open. This forced me to withdraw from my lair and meet the girls I would be living with for the summer.
We all had to quarantine in our apartments for the first 2 weeks. We talked of hosting a cookout midway through our lockdown period to meet the other students, but a mishap required us to intersect earlier and in an atypical manner. Three days into our quarantine, the toilet malfunctioned and started overflowing. I froze as I watched the water begin pouring over the sides of the bowl. I panicked when the water began flowing underneath the bathroom door. Within 5 minutes, our entire apartment floor was completely covered in at least 3 inches of toilet water.
Embarrassingly, I had no option but to knock on the other doors in hope of finding someone to help me. Every intern came out of their room to witness this calamity occurring. What a great introduction, right? Everyone pitched in and helped push mounds of water out of the apartment and clean the disastrous mess. Suddenly, we were a team, and we all quickly became friends.
The next 10 weeks were some of the best weeks of my entire life. We became thicker than thieves and were inseparable. Life was full of adventure and excursions: a road trip to Nashville, ice skating, bowling, top golf, a trampoline park, lots of tennis matches, cookouts, and we even crashed a wedding to view the most beautiful sunset over the city of Huntsville. They threw me a surprise birthday party, since my birthday falls in July. We carpooled to the office every morning and adopted Dolly Parton’s “9 To 5” as our morning ritual tune. We couldn’t start the day without a splash of Dolly. We became family and even created an office family tree. I’m sure it’s no surprise that I was Grandma.
My surprise birthday party and friends
Although we all worked in the same office, everyone had different projects and worked with different mentors. I was paired with two rocket scientists from NASA MSFC, and the title of my project was “Optimizing a Machine Learning Algorithm for The Development of a Future Satellite.” Our satellite, The COronal Spectroscopic Imager in the EUV (COSIE), helps answer questions corresponding to solar physics, particularly those dealing with extracting temperature, density, and abundance measurements of plasma in coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Also, COSIE will help answer important questions corresponding to energy fluctuations in CMEs.
My project was important because CMEs can send high-speed charged particles directly towards earth. These particles can interfere with space-borne instrumentation, affecting the functionality of the instrument, which could be dangerous for astronauts in space. Strong CMEs can even affect the functionality of transportation and communication systems on earth. Likewise, a strong CME like the one associated with the Carrington event that took place in 1859, can cause blackouts across power grids on earth which would be catastrophic to our current society.
Before my REU experience, I was doubtful about my future. I was ready to give up my dream as I felt that pursuing a career in the space industry was out of reach for me. I was very aware of my weaknesses, but it was this internship which helped me recognize my strengths and that I should not only continue chasing my dreams, but that my dreams were within reach.
Throughout my 10-week experience, I found most of the answers to the questions that riddled me. I wasn’t chosen for the internship because I had the highest GPA or IQ level. I was selected because they wanted hard working candidates who are passionate about space exploration, research and scientific discovery. They sought eager candidates who were hungry to learn, and I have an insatiable appetite for anything related to space.
I don’t think the selection committee could’ve chosen a better combination of interns than the ones they picked. Expectedly, all of them were pursuing a physics, astrophysics or engineering degree, but unexpectedly, I had no trouble adjusting or fitting in. Through our strengths, we all brought something different to the program, and I learned a lot from my peers. All of us were instrumental to one another’s success throughout the program, and I couldn’t have completed this experience without them.
The Crew
July 30, 2021 will be forever etched in my mind. It is the day of my mentors’ rocket launch and one of the most exciting, inspiring, yet bittersweet days that I’ve ever experienced. It was sad because I knew that my time in Alabama and with NASA was ending, and I’d soon have to leave the place and the people that I’d grown to love. But if you know me and my passion for rockets, the sadness paled in comparison to the exhilaration and intoxication surrounding the moment. Witnessing the camaraderie, cheering, and the culmination of my mentors’ accomplishments and hard work sparked a rumble in me. It set something afire, and it can’t be contained until satisfied. My sleeping giant was awakened. I found my purpose and my calling, and nothing can stop me from chasing my dreams from this point forward.
Reese Williams, a current junior, is diligently working to complete a degree in mathematics. During the summer of 2021, she completed a joint internship with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She is scheduled to graduate in the spring of 2023. After graduation, she plans on attending graduate school to obtain a degree in aerospace engineering or physics.