Owensboro Community & Technical College (OCTC) student Kiean Washington is heading back to NASA for an internship. Washington has been selected to participate in NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement Matrix Intern Project at the Kennedy Space Center this spring and summer. The internship is designed to support multiple ongoing projects with the Office of STEM Engagement. The spring focus is on the NextGEN STEM Commercial Crew Project, a joint initiative with Boeing and Space X to design, develop, and test systems to send astronauts to the Space Station. In the summer, Washington’s internship will focus on the Lunabotics Competition – a full-on engineering exercise where students receive practical experience in the full engineering lifecycle process from concept development to system closeout.
Washington says he lives by the philosophy that it is better to try and fail than to never try at all. He encourages other OCTC students to do the same. He commented, “You don’t always have to be exemplary to get where you want to go. You just have to be determined and willing to try. When I thought about the ideal student NASA would want, it definitely wasn’t me. But I still got in.”
This is Washington’s third collaboration with NASA. In June 2019, he participated in the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) program. NCAS provides participants with an authentic NASA experience and encourages them to pursue a NASA-related field or career. He returned to the Kennedy Space Center in October 2019 to serve as a student assistant with NCAS. Wahington’s participation in these opportunities helped him secure his upcoming internship.
Washington completed OCTC’s Tech X program in the fall of 2018 and is currently working on an Associate in Science degree. He credits OCTC with giving him the opportunity and ability to grow both personally and professionally. He said, “The people here make this place so much more than just a ‘school.’ I knew I could learn. I just needed the opportunity to do so. OCTC allowed me to get the hands-on experience that I didn’t have before.” Upon completion of his associate degree, Washington plans to transfer to Western Kentucky University to pursue a degree in physics.
