The fall cohort asks students to explain how their current coursework connects to a NASA role, alongside live virtual experiences with agency experts. NASA identifies faculty encouragement as important for students who do not yet picture themselves working at the agency. Successful completion brings an invitation to a spring virtual career fair connecting students with experts and industry opportunities. The immediate benefit offered is a chance to investigate where existing studies might lead. [S1]
NASA's account of Kim Alexander shows how that exploration can change a student's ambitions. After eight years as a bartender, Alexander enrolled at Riverside Community College in California intending to study graphic design, then developed an interest in math. She entered NCAS hoping to strengthen her resume and university transfer application. Working on a winning team that designed a human mission to Mars helped her see an aerospace career as feasible, according to NASA's report. [S1]
Ashley Rodriguez found a different direction. She was parenting a toddler and seeking an IT degree at Miami-Dade Community College when she learned about NCAS. The experience helped her discover strategic communications as a field she enjoyed. NASA reports that both women began NCAS-funded internships in January 2024 and subsequently earned university degrees. As of the September 2 report, Rodriguez was starting a Pathways internship in strategic communications at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, while Alexander was beginning an engineering role at Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. NASA described those Pathways internships as opportunities that could lead directly to full-time agency employment. [S1]
Source documents
- NASA Revamps Challenge Linking Community College Studies to Aerospace Careershttps://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/linking-community-college-studies-to-aerospace-careers/