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On hot, summer days when Alyssa Warrior was growing up, she spent her time outside by her home on the Seneca Nation Cattaraugus Reservation near Buffalo, New York. She lay in the creek to escape the boiling sun, ran through the woods with her sister and five brothers, picked raspberries and wild onions, and lounged in a hammock.<\/p>\n
When night came, her father started a fire and told scary stories while hot dogs and s\u2019mores sizzled. Her family sunk down in lawn chairs after the fire turned to ash and gazed up, searching for lights in the sky.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking at stars was always my favorite thing,\u201d Warrior said. \u201cI think I\u2019ve always been interested in the natural world.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a blanket wrapped around her, Warrior walked barefoot in the dewy grass, staying out long after her family retreated inside. Other nights, she lay with her face pressed against the sliding glass door in her living room, hoping to catch just one more glimpse of the sky.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was always like, \u2018One more, just one more shooting star,\u2019\u2019 Warrior said. \u201cI just couldn\u2019t stop. I loved to see them.\u201d<\/p>\n
In summer 2023, Warrior \u2013 now a physics senior at the University at Buffalo \u2013 interned at NASA\u2019s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, where she used software to validate and verify a model of a control system that could be used in future hybrid-electric aircraft. Adjusting the model and combing over code for hours to make improvements reminded Warrior of her skywatching memories.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt one point, I needed to stop,\u201d Warrior said. \u201cBut I\u2019d be thinking, well, maybe I\u2019ll just make one more adjustment and that\u2019ll help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Warrior, who is On\u00f6dow\u00e1\u2019ga\u2019(Seneca) and belongs to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, never expected to come to NASA. But after attending an American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) conference and meeting Glenn engineer Joseph Connolly, she was recruited as an intern.<\/p>\n
Outreach is integral to bringing more Indigenous people to NASA, says Connolly, who shares Warrior\u2019s Haudenosaunee background and has mentored a handful of other Indigenous interns during his 19 years at Glenn.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think one of the reasons that it\u2019s really important to get more Indigenous people at NASA, and just people with different perspectives, is because the problems that we work on are ridiculously hard,\u201d Connolly said. \u201cIf we have all of the smartest people, but they get trained the exact same way, sometimes you just don\u2019t have the insights that can give you the ability to look at problems in a new way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Building connections with fellow Indigenous employees is another way to help inspire the next generation, Connolly says, and Warrior connected with many through an online Natives at NASA group.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been really great to see other Native people working here at NASA \u2013 people that looks like me or look like my family \u2013 because it\u2019s not something I see or that I\u2019m used to,\u201d Warrior said. \u201cEveryone I\u2019ve met has held some sort of information or knowledge that has improved my time here and will improve my future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Warrior sees a clear connection between Indigenous people and the STEM fields.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a lot of Native people specifically are connected with nature and have an interest in learning from it,\u201d she said. \u201cI think that\u2019s its own science.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition, working on hybrid-electric aircraft and sustainability aligned with Warrior\u2019s cultural values, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin Native communities, that is very important,\u201d Warrior said. \u201cIt\u2019s not always just trying to go to space, it\u2019s also just trying to improve the planet that we\u2019re on now. \u201c<\/p>\n
Besides recruiting and speaking at conferences, NASA Glenn works with Cleveland organizations, like the Lake Erie Native American Council and the Cleveland Metroparks, to support Indigenous Peoples Day events and other gatherings. NASA also supports a high-powered rocket competition for Indigenous students called First Nations Launch. Within the agency, the Science Mission Directorate hosts monthly conversations with Indigenous scholars.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s incredibly important to make sure that Alyssa and some of the other students see that these communities exist, because when I was getting started [in STEM], I had no idea they did,\u201d Connolly said.<\/p>\n
Along with continuing outreach, Warrior suggests that those at NASA and others seeking to connect with Indigenous people learn about Indigenous heritage and history.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are all really important things to know before even trying to open your arms up to Native people because then you\u2018re aware of where they\u2019re coming from and certain struggles that they face,\u201d Warrior said. \u201cThat makes it easier to reach out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Warrior says she is proud to have been an intern at NASA and hopes she\u2019ll inspire younger Indigenous people, like her nieces and nephews, to reach for the stars. She knows she\u2019ll continue to draw on the lessons of the natural world as she pursues a future STEM career.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always with me, this mindset and maybe looking at things a little differently. I feel more comfortable outside, seeing green,\u201d Warrior said. \u201cI think it\u2019s definitely affected who I am today. I\u2019ve got to put my feet in the grass sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n