Faces of STEM Engagement
To inspire more young people to pursue STEM careers, NASA has made considerable investments in various NASA internship programs. These programs provide real-world, authentic, learning experiences for students in high school through graduate school. Through these programs, NASA aims to provide opportunities for diverse students to engage with NASA experts, contribute to NASA’s work, and, ultimately to transition into the NASA workforce.
FY 2023 Internship and Fellowship Metrics
Office of STEM Engagement Internships
- NASA engaged 1987 unique interns in the OSTEM Internship program
- These significant awards provided a total of over $19.3M in direct financial support to students.
- 12.5% of participating interns identified as racially underrepresented*
- 15.7% of participating interns identified as ethnically underrepresented**
- 46.0% of the OSTEM internship positions were filled by women
Office of STEM Engagement Fellowships
- 58 Total Active Fellows
- 18 Active Fellows from Minority Serving Institutions
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Internships and Fellowships
- 824 Total Interns and Fellows
- 817 Students and 7 Educators
*Underrepresented racial categories (American Indian or Alaskan Native; Black or African American; and/or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander)
** Underrepresented ethnicity (Hispanic or Latino)
My Path to NASA
Astronauts are often the face of NASA, but our workforce is made up of all kinds of professionals. We are scientists, engineers, IT specialists, human resources specialists, accountants, writers, technicians and many other kinds of people working together. No matter what your strengths are, there's a place at NASA for you!
Jessica Watkins
Jessica Watkins, a former JPL intern turned NASA astronaut, made her first trip to the International Space Station as part of the agency's SpaceX Crew 4 mission.
Christian Taubenberger
Intern to published scientist in under a year, Christian Taubenberger interned with the Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory through the summer of 2020 and then spring of 2021 on the same project.
Michelle Vo
At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, UCLA student Michelle Vo applied her talents to VR and AR experiences that help scientists explore a totally different world.
Brittany Nez
As a NASA Glenn Research Center intern, Brittany Nez was part of a tight-knit community of Native American engineers. At the University of Colorado Boulder, she works in the assembly, integration, and testing phase of the CANVAS satellite mission.
Aaron Vigil
Beginning as an intern with the Office of STEM Engagement, Aaron Vigil now does exciting work on the Solar Array Sun Shield for the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope as a mechanical engineer.
