Today my roommate asked me how long I’ve been wearing the same sweater – one I got at Pike Place in Seattle – and I wasn’t even ashamed to say every day since Thursday. I’m trying to hold on to that place for as long as I can until reality really hits hard (two exams on deck waddup). So as you might have guessed, this post will be dedicated to our time in Seattle.
I knew that this trip would be kind of up my alley with a speaker from Blue Origin and the tour of Boeing, but I didn’t know how much it would inspire me to go after what I want. What inspired me the most was speaking with Heather, the head of outreach at Blue Origin. Her passion for the work they’re doing was infectious and talking to her about the possibility of me working there… I almost cried because I could see it. I have this thing where once I get an idea in my head, I tend to fixate on it and imagine all of the future possibilities. I’m sure that’s common, but now there’s this fire in me to work harder to put myself in the position to be selected to intern at Blue Origin. The only problem there is that it’s not a fire for focusing more on classes, though I have plenty of those that need my attention, it’s for being more involved with projects like Lunar Lion or the Space Program Lab. I also want to reach out to the Propulsion Engineering Lab where Dr. Christensen worked for a possible project to work on for my thesis. Honestly, it’s probably time I started thinking about that anyway.
Although I want to work in the space industry because, well, it’s space, touring Boeing was pretty incredible. Just the sheer size of the place and the airplanes themselves was a bit awe inspiring. Truly a “wow” moment. Some of the processes were familiar to me because I work in a lab where we’re building a human powered airplane, but it only has a 74 ft. wingspan. Teeny tiny compared to the Boeing airplanes, but I’m doing pretty much the same thing, right? 😀 On a different note, the food tour of Pike Place was incredible. I need to go back to try all of the different food places it has to offer, and also all of the fruit. All of it. Except if I see papaya, because that is the one fruit that I will not eat. It smells like dirty socks and tastes like what I imagine they would taste like.
Now that we’re back in snowy State College, I’m going to take some time to reflect on the experience and try to find my focus. Find the things that I really want to spend my time on, because undergrad is going by really fast. I’m grateful for the opportunity given to us by Ed and Helen Hintz to be able to go to places like Seattle and meet real life rocket scientists and fellow space enthusiasts with unparalleled passion, and also the guys from Startup Hill who gave some pretty great networking advice. Now I’m off to drink coffee fresh from the Starbucks roastery, ponder life, and plan my next trip to Seattle (a.k.a. read 100 pages of Crime and Punishment by tomorrow).
Natalia,
First and foremost, this post made me so happy. Shoutout to you and your pike place hoodie, continue to wear it with pride! I want to address literally every point you made in this post but I feel like that would take up a lot of your time (especially with those two exams, good luck — I’m sure you’ll slay them). Let us first start with your Starbucks coffee from the roastery. I ended up buying some too and when I got back to State College, the literal first thing I did was buy a French Coffee press at Target. When I tell you my life has been forever changed….The aesthetics are 100 and I’m eternally shook. The old coffee we used to drink is the equivalent of bean water and tbh, I would refer to your opinion on papayas as an alternative definition to the regular coffee I used to consume.
Thanks for sharing this recap as I’m currently avoiding my homework and holding onto every memory of Seattle. I’m SO inspired by the fact that you’re motivated to continue pursuing your goals and possible internships. It’s lit — honestly, truly.
Candice 🙂
This gave me FOMO. Sounds like it was so much more than just a “spring break” trip. That was something I really took away from the NYC trip was the experience of listening to all those successful speakers. These are the kinds of experiences we will take away from college and help us in the future.
Natalia,
I’m very happy that you had the chance to meet amazing mentors from your industry. It’s not unlikely that a place like Seattle aroused your passion for the space industry to another level. I, personally, did not know about Blue Origin before, but learning about the speaker’s passion for her work made me realize that scientific exploration continues because of people like her. I’ve always seen engineering careers for their benefits, but I was excited to see her love for reusable rockets. I remember the evening after Salty’s at the hotel when you shared your delight for getting started with an aerospace career with Blue Origin.
Also, enjoy reading Crime and Punishment– I always leave the novel with more questions than answers. I remember learning about the “yellow” theme in the novel, as it symbolized “zholti dom” and mental illness in general… found it pretty cool. 🙂
Nakul