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Ever wonder what happens to spacecraft after they get launched to space? Well, that is where my job as an instrument operations engineer comes in. My job consists of planning, generating, and operating scientific instruments in-flight. I am grateful for having worked on missions at Saturn, the Moon, and our own planet Earth.

When I was a high-schooler, I was unsure of what college I wanted to attend, or what major I wanted to choose. After receiving an email from a college called Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), I decided to apply to a summer program they were offering with the encouragement of my mom. After participating in that program, I knew that MIT was the right university for me. The passionate students and boundless opportunities developed a feeling of belonging in me that led me to apply and eventually get accepted.

The most exciting and fulfilling part of being an engineer is that I am able to work on projects that benefit humanity. When people think of the space industry, they picture the outer reaches of our solar system. What they may not imagine is the great body of work being done to study our own home-Earth. I am thankful to have a career that allows me to commit myself to that responsibility.

The highlight of my career has been witnessing the end of the Cassini mission to Saturn. Some of the people on the team had been working on the mission for longer than I had been alive, but they still treated me as one of their own. I was given the opportunity to operate the cameras that would catch breathtaking images of the planet. And when the Cassini spacecraft had run out of fuel, I quickly learned that it was not just the end of the mission, but the end of a team. The night we watched with bittersweet longing as its signal faded to nothing is something that I will always keep in my memories. And while Cassini will be remembered for its historic contributions, what I will remember it for is the team it brought together.

My friends often ask why a girl could achieve all these. I always grew up a big fan of fiction. I read the Harry Potter books and loved anything fantasy. I realized that a common theme of hero stories is that the hero must always make a choice to start their adventure. If you don't pick up the sword in your own story because you are afraid of what may happen next, you risk not having a story at all.