I'm Karen Whitfield. I'm a teacher and I work with community college students at
NASA. It's important for me to open doors for everyone. So regardless of your age,
or where you go to school, or where you live, it's important for you to know that
there's a place here at NASA for you. I love to read. So I was an English major.
But I also worked part-time at a daycare and worked with kids, and I loved that. So
I thought, you know, maybe teaching is a way to combine some of the things that I
love. Some of the challenges I faced were number one being confident myself and
believing that I could do it, and then also being a perfectionist wanting to
get it just right and realizing I needed to give myself a break. It's okay. My
biggest discovery has been I can. So with this job, I'm equal parts excited
and terrified every day. I go to lots of different cities across the country, and
I meet new faces and new students every time. And it can be a little bit scary,
but it's also exciting to try something new and realize you really can do it.
What's cool about being where I am is realizing that I'm a small piece on a
larger puzzle and knowing that my piece helps the whole thing to come together.
At the end of each of our workshops, we ask the students to reflect, and they
share what the program has meant to them. And hearing their stories and hearing
their excitement and their joy, make all of this worthwhile. I love what I do. It's
very unexpected. But I come to work every day with a smile on my face and excited
to see what's next.
you