The West Virginia Coding Club recently had a great speaker at its March 6 meeting, Mr. Jesse White with the NASA Katherine Johnson IV & V Facility, in Fairmont, West Virginia. "IV & V" stands for Independent Verification & Validation.
Jesse spoke about some of the opportunities for high school and college students to connect with NASA through Internships. These internships are to help improve software safety for mission critical software for NASA Missions and help protect NASA missions from threats. They use a variety of coding languages and methodologies and tools to test software.
NASA hires many young people each summer. The 17 centers around the country have different skills they are looking for. Who should apply for NASA internships? Students who have a love/interest in coding. No specific code experience needed, but the ability to problem solve and think through processes will be a valuable skill. Computer Science and Engineering disciplines are needed to support NASA's unique and important work. At the Katherine Johnson Facility, they look for students for internships who know how to code and also have some knowledge in cyber. This opportunity is also a gift to gain this valuable experience and learn more about NASA as an organization that could be a career in the future.
NASA will hire 4,000 to 5,000 students each year to help support their efforts. Virtual connections are allowing students to potentially connect with any of the 17 facilities. A student can apply for up to 15 jobs, especially with the virtual opportunities nationwide. Jobs are normally posted in December.
Each year they select about 5-15 High School students, 20-30 College students at the Katherine Johnson Facility in Fairmont, WV. There are also year-round opportunities for college students. They are able to work in teams with other students. Eventually, there is a NASA pathways program that helps to connect students with potential careers at NASA.
Interested?
Eligibility requirements include:
U.S. citizenship
Student enrolled full-time in high school, undergraduate or graduate programs at an accredited college or university. (Applicants transitioning between high school and college or undergraduate and graduate pursuits are eligible if they have graduated within 6 months and can demonstrate enrollment in the next-level academic pursuit.)
Cumulative 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
Minimum of 16 years of age and at least a sophomore when the internship begins.
Some additional items that will be needed:
Letter of Recommendation
School Transcript
List your extracurriculars, and detail of things like your role in team competitions (Coding, Robotics, etc.)
Jesse stressed that any student can accomplish what is needed and to not discount their ability and skills. He told the students they are good enough and they need to believe in themselves!
Dan McElroy, President of the West Virginia Coding Club, shared, "At NASA, these are the kind of opportunities and careers that West Virginia students can earn when they develop their coding and problem solving skills."
For more information on NASA internships go to:
Additional questions about the program, please reach out to: