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By: Lacey Arnold (photographs provided by Tyler Choi)

Tyler Choi was studying political science and economics to prepare for law school, but as graduation neared, he wasn鈥檛 sure if this was the right path. He started to ask himself big life questions: Is this something I want to do? Am I being pressured down this path?

After realizing he wasn鈥檛 committed to law school Tyler went to work as a financial advisor for a few years while figuring out his next step. While working in finance Tyler became aware of how technology was shaping our future society.

鈥淚 thought, maybe if I鈥檓 going to make a career switch and jump into tech that now might be the time to do so,鈥� said Tyler. 鈥淥f course, I was riddled with anxiety and doubt because doing anything like that is very scary.鈥�

Support network to make the switch

Having a brother and father working in the field of computer science gave Tyler the knowledge that it would be a tough switch, but the confidence that he could do it. In his exploration of programs, he found the nine-month Graduate Certificate in Software Design & Development with a pathway for admission into a master鈥檚 program.

Before Tyler could apply, he had to complete a few prerequisite courses in programming I, programming II and college-level calculus at a local community college. Being new to tech and starting at zero, Tyler fought through the anxiety of doing something new. He knew the industry was competitive and felt like he was one of many jumping into tech, but even though the barrier to entry was high he knew the tech industry had a lot to offer.

Tyler recognized that he was making the switch in the greater Seattle area and felt fortunate that this area is so tech responsive. A few of his friends working at Microsoft and Amazon gave him some advice: find an internship your very first summer.

Being new to tech with barely a few prerequisites courses complete, Tyler didn鈥檛 think that advice was going to work. While looking for internships, he completed the prerequisites courses and applied to the graduate certificate for autumn 2020.

Landing his first NASA internship

As someone fascinated by space, stars and the moon, Tyler applied to several different National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) internships and only heard back from one that he鈥檇 been selected: software engineer at the Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California.
鈥淗aving applied to the graduate certificate gave me a boost in my application. But what I noticed is that NASA really values not just academic experience, but community experience and how involved you are in your school community,鈥� said Tyler.

鈥淭he most important thing I recognized that is different with NASA, and perhaps the private sector, is that NASA really values nurturing people who aspire to become future leaders and those who are generally interested in space.鈥�

Virtual mentorship across five centers

Tyler鈥檚 first internship at Ames went so well that it set the stage for continuing to work with NASA over the coming years. NASA leaders motivated Tyler to apply to intern at other centers. The pivot from on-site to virtual internships during the pandemic made it possible for Tyler to stay in Washington and experience working at five different centers all over the country: (Ames Research, Kennedy Space, Langley Research, Marshall Space Flight, HQ) all over the country and collaborate with NASA partners worldwide.

鈥淚 genuinely enjoyed the work experience, and just being able to work on specific missions that will support the future of space endeavors,鈥� said Tyler.

NASA hosted virtual gatherings to encourage intern networking and invited speakers to give seminars. Tyler remembers an incredible seminar presented by the chief principal of the James Webb Space Telescope, listening to astronauts share their space and training experiences, and watching presentations on the failures and mistakes NASA has made.

鈥淭here was a balance of intellectually intriguing presentations, but also these somber, important lessons and reflections that all emphasized the point that NASA doesn鈥檛 give up,鈥� said Tyler. 鈥淚f you fail, you fail, and you figure out what went wrong and try to do it again.鈥�

Exploring the Moon, science and Mars

During the first Ames internship, Tyler helped build a 3D map of the Moon鈥攊magine Google Earth, but for the Moon. The map gives astronauts a 3D visualization of lunar terrain to help them better explore the Moon and navigate around mountains and creators.

Not only was it a fun experience working with lunar data sets, but Tyler could also see that everyone working at NASA wants to be there and is positively motivated. 鈥淭here’s something really empowering when people know that what they’re trying to do is advance human civilization,鈥� said Tyler.

Tyler wanted to continue being a part of the NASA community with great mentors on different projects, so he continued to apply to be an intern at NASA. The next internship Tyler did was as a software engineer for the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida, where he was a part of their launch control systems.

Each rocket launch at the Kennedy Space Center requires a lot of data to be processed and examined before, during and after launch. 鈥淚 was part of the launch control systems team handling some of that data in the firing room to help mission organizers and scientists understand what was going on,鈥� said Tyler. 鈥淚 contributed to the Artemis rocket software refactoring and software code to the firing room systems that handles reading and monitoring data collected during the rocket launch.鈥�

Next, Tyler interned with the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where he aided in building a VR training simulation of landing a lunar lander as part of the Artemis missions. The training simulation is a mixed reality experience where people can use a controller to practice landing a ship on the moon.

From there Tyler continued his software engineering internship experience at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, where he worked on a data visualization room in VR. 鈥淭hat opportunity came about because of my VR experience at Marshall,鈥� said Tyler. At Langley, Tyler transitioned from working on space missions to machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI).

“There are a lot of scientists at NASA who understand the value of machine learning and AI, but they don’t understand how it works since it鈥檚 still a relatively new field.鈥� Tyler鈥檚 role was to design a VR system that could help them understand how machine learning reaches its decisions.

To conclude Tyler鈥檚 internship experience he worked as a technical researcher at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he was part of the Mars Reconnaissance team. This team focuses on how humans are going to get to Mars and collaborates with Mars experts all around the world from different space agencies. This internship was very different because it didn’t involve any software development, rather it was more about technical research and presentations.

鈥淭his was great to have the opportunity to work with distributed teams around the world from vastly different cultural backgrounds and perspectives,鈥� said Tyler. 鈥淏ut we were unified under the same goal鈥攈ow are we going to get to Mars and how do we work together to become a multi-planetary species?鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 truly proud to have made a small contribution to a diverse set of missions that may have a positive impact at NASA, and mentors that I can stay in touch with for future opportunities,鈥� said Tyler.

Graduate research assistant in master鈥檚 program

During Tyler鈥檚 internship experience he was awarded the graduate certificate in spring 2021 and applied to the Master of Science in Computer Science & Software Engineering for autumn 2021. This opened doors for research opportunities.

Tyler鈥檚 two years at NASA ended up giving him the experience needed to be awarded a graduate research assistant (RA) position with Dr. Kelvin Sung, professor in the School of STEM, Division of Computing & Software Systems.

鈥淭he research work that I鈥檓 doing is only possible because of my first internship at NASA鈥攙isualizing lunar terrain,鈥� said Tyler. As a research assistant, Tyler is playing a key role in visualizing earth terrain in virtual reality for a system to assist emergency service responders in search and rescue missions. The work Tyler is doing as a RA relates to his culminating master鈥檚 defense.

鈥淧rofessor Sung is great. He鈥檚 not only a great advisor, but it has been a positive work experience that I feel has allowed me to make substantial progress as a software developer,鈥� said Tyler.

What鈥檚 next? Don鈥檛 let the fear and anxiety stop you.

As Tyler approaches graduation in spring 2023, he has found himself on a path of working in virtual reality and doing visualization of geographic information systems (GIS). 鈥淚鈥檝e realized that mapping apps are so integral to society today,鈥� said Tyler. 鈥淲orking with these mapping systems gives me more appreciation and I鈥檝e come to learn that mapping tech is actually really interesting.鈥�

鈥淏eing where I am today now, I am so glad I decided to go down the graduate certificate to master鈥檚 degree path,鈥� said Tyler.

The master鈥檚 program was very challenging for Tyler, and at one point he didn鈥檛 think he could finish, but he persevered and is so grateful he embarked on this journey. He wants others to know that 鈥測ou might be full of fear and anxiety, but you just have to go for it. Be honest and diligent. Don鈥檛 try to take unnecessary short cuts and good things may come.鈥�

Tyler hopes to inspire any students who are remotely interested in the stars, the Moon, and space, and who want to experience an enthusiastic and fun working environment, to look up NASA and give it a shot.