My landlord is in space: Life as a NASA intern

Anthony Storm is hard at work at NASA's Johnson Space Center, developing plans for upcoming tests that will support astronauts in future missions.

An aerospace junior at the University of Colorado Boulder, Storm is gaining hands-on experience through the NASA Pathways Program,an internship where participants collaborate with front-line NASA engineers and astronauts.

"I've gotten to do training with astronauts going up to the International Space Station, and you get on a first-name basis with them," Storm said. "For Crew 6,I went to their cake cutting when they were certified for space flight, which is a NASA tradition."

Across each internship, participants spend time in three different areas at NASA. The locations vary depending on student interests and availability, but for Storm, he began in flight operations at JSC, then moved to White Sands doing propulsion testing, and is now back at JSC in pyrotechnics.

As students often come long distances for the program, NASA helps participants find a place to live, with landlords who are literally out of this world.

"JSC has an internal website called Space City Housing. NASA certifies employees who have rooms available and you can rent directly from them. I'm renting from Tracy Dysonand her husband. She just came down on the Soyuz MS-25 after six months in space,"Storm said.

Although many internships take place during the summer, NASA requires a portion of Pathways be completed during the fall or spring semesters, which means participants must delay college graduation, typically by a year.

"It was a hard decision, but the opportunities Pathways gives me, the career building and resume building is absolutely incredible," Storm said. "It is absolutely worthwhile to work in this environment."

Most pathways students also subsequently earn full-time jobs at NASA.

"Half of the civil service employees at JSC came through the Pathways program. It's a huge deal at NASA. Basically everyone you work for in the program has the opportunity to send you a job offer," Storm said.

Storm is a non-traditional student. Now age 26, he joined the Marines after graduating high school.

"When I graduated I wasn't really going anywhere. I didn't have the best grades, but I am pretty patriotic, so I enlisted and became an 0351 Assaultman, which is an infantry man specializing in demolition and rocket launchers," he said.

He spent four years in the Marines and after his term was up in 2021, enrolled at CU Boulder. Although a native of California, his family has long ties to Colorado - he is a fourth generation CU Boulder student. His great-grandmother, grandfather, and father all are Buff alumni.

"CU Boulder's aerospace program is really good, and I've always been a space nerd," he said.

Storm has also become the third generation in his family to work or intern at JSC, after his grandfather and uncle.

Storm is a strong advocate for the Pathways program. He and two peers have started CU Gateway, a student organization to help students with applications and the interview process.

"I applied to Pathways because another student came on a whim to talk to our class about it," Storm said. "Now I've been through it, and the application and interviews are hard, so I wanted to show people the opportunities that are available and how cool this program is. During breaks, I get to play dodgeball with astronauts. It's amazing."

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