Sairy Cohen - First Gen Student Lands Jobs at NASA, Apple, & Google

Lady Empire

"I was born and raised in Juarez, Mexico and I migrated to El Paso, Texas at the age of 13. Despite not speaking any English, I began working to help support my parents with our financial situation by selling candies in school and cleaning restrooms.
Later, when I was in high school, I decided to join the medical program at Bel Air High School and was accepted into the dental program. Working as a Dental Assistant was not my passion, but it seemed like the only option available to me, so I thought that was going to be my career. My parents never went to college and didn’t know much about the process, so college was never a part of my plan.
My counselor from high school was the only teacher who believed in me and encouraged me to apply to go to college. I decided to listen to him, and long story short, I was accepted into UTEP.
I graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) with a bachelor’s in Computer Science and a minor in Math. I worked for NASA in the Summer of 2017 and the Summer of 2018. Later on, I interned at Apple where I got to meet Tim Cook. I’m currently working for an awesome company called Google."
"This summer I had the privilege to be a NASA intern at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Interns play a vital and important role at NASA. I worked with the cyber security branch, which allowed me to develop security information, event manager reports, and analyses to protect KSC’s next Launch Control System. I learned about different cybersecurity concepts and assisted with protocols, vulnerability assessments and reports, patching reports, security monitoring, and malware scanning. I helped secure the center, its rockets, and its systems.
NASA gives you the opportunity to be part of agency groups, and meet people from throughout the program across the United States. NASA employees always were willing to share knowledge that helped me grow. I was part of NASA’s Hispanic Outreach and Leadership Alliance (HOLA), and Kennedy Networking Opportunities for Women (KNOW).
I was nervous at the beginning of this journey because I left my friends, family, and city for the first time, but this experience was incredible. It impacted my life so much. This internship has prepared me better for my future. It helped me grow as a person, especially in my self-confidence. It proved to me that hard work pays off. These opportunities are not easy to obtain, but when you work hard, you get rewarded.
This internship was a blessing and an opportunity for me. To work with one of the most amazing federal agencies had been one of my life’s goals. I got to see a live launch for the first time in my life. I got to see behind the scenes and learn how they create rockets and new technology. I also had the honor to work and interact with people from different ethnicities and learn about their cultures. My favorite part of this internship was attending important events and meeting celebrities such as Vice President Mike Pence; U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida; and Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon.
It was a great experience. As a Hispanic student, it was an honor to represent The University of Texas at El Paso at NASA. I look forward to helping NASA take us to Mars."
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