Allan Sison shares how his passion for engineering led to an apprenticeship with NASA.
From as early as I can remember, my mom instilled in me the value of an education. In kindergarten, I knew I wanted to become an engineer. I thought, “cool, I always liked trains.” In the summer of my junior year, my career path began to reveal itself.
I was selected to participate in NASA’s summer high school apprenticeship research program at NASA-Ames in Mountain View, the heart of Silicon Valley. I was paired with my mentor, an Aeronautical Engineer.
At NASA-Ames, I was exposed to the world of wind tunnels, drag coefficients, computational fluid dynamics and supercomputers. I was able to work in the 80 by 120 ft wind tunnel. The test space is so large, it can fit a full-sized big rig and trailer. I learned that my mentor previously worked on a study showing increased fuel savings simply by adding fairings and panels around the truck and trailer. I was also first introduced to teleconferencing. All the summer interns from the various NASA centers across the US would regularly meet via video conference through NASA’s private network. I was able to interact with interns in Pasadena, Houston, TX and Merritt Island, FL. Up until then, I wasn’t sure what kind of engineering field to study in college, but by the end of the summer of 1989, I knew Aeronautical Engineering was for me.
Now, I work for a leading government contractor in the aerospace industry and all my projects are space bound. I will always cherish that summer that opened my eyes to engineering. More importantly, I will always be thankful for the guidance and direction given to me by my mentor, Wendy. As a way to give back to the community, I continue to mentor students interested in STEM. With a Perspective, I’m Allan Sison.