CTSGC Success Stories
Read what recent awardees had to say about the impact of their award from NASA CT Space Grant below.
Student Internships
How can a CTSGC-funded internship shape a student's future?
During the summer of 2026, CTSGC sponsored 10 interns statewide and 4 at NASA centers across the country. In their own words, here is the impact of that experience.
Oluwasegun Ashley
Oluwasegun Ashley
Engineering Operation and Management
University of New Haven
Internship Project:
Asteroid Occultation Project
NEON ASTRO
"This award had a major impact on me personally, professionally, and academically because it gave me the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a field that directly connects to my future goals. Through this experience, I was able to work on projects involving Arduino programming, computer systems, telescope equipment, and the development of a flash timer. I also helped improve the setup and installation process for multiple computer systems used to communicate with and control the telescopes. Professionally, this experience helped me develop skills that I had not fully recognized in myself before, especially leadership and team coordination. I was responsible for helping lead other interns as they worked on their individual projects and tasks. Because everyone came from different academic backgrounds and had different schedules, communication and organization became very important. I created a way for the team to stay connected, discuss progress, and help one another when needed. At the same time, I was still able to learn from the other interns. For example, one of the interns had more experience with electrical engineering and helped teach me better soldering techniques for connections on the Arduino board. This showed me how valuable it is to work with people from different engineering backgrounds. Academically, this experience allowed me to apply concepts from my mechanical engineering education while also gaining more exposure to electrical engineering, programming, astronomy, and aerospace-related research. It helped me become more comfortable working outside of my main area of study and strengthened my ability to learn new technical skills independently. Most importantly, this award reinforced what I want to pursue in the future. My goal is to earn a master’s degree in aerospace engineering and eventually pursue a career at NASA. Being able to participate in this type of research gave me a better understanding of the work involved in aerospace and astronomy and confirmed that this is the direction I want to continue taking with my education and professional career."
Learn about NEON ASTRO: https://www.neonastro.net/
Younjoon Chung
Younjoon Chung
Computational Biology and Biomedical Informatics
Yale University
Internship Project:
Requirements-Driven Visual Perception Assurance
NASA’s Ames Research Center
"This award gave me the opportunity to work directly with NASA researchers on AI assurance for autonomous and safety-critical systems. The experience strengthened my technical background in computer vision, artificial intelligence, formal methods, and system monitoring, while also showing me how these approaches are applied to real aerospace challenges. It broadened my research perspective and reinforced my interest in developing reliable, interpretable, and safety-aware AI systems. The internship also provided valuable professional experience collaborating in an interdisciplinary research environment."
Learn about NASA Internships: https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/internship-programs/
Jesse Deck
Jesse Deck
Engineering, Concentration in Biomedical Engineering
Trinity College
Internship Project:
Research & Development Intern
Oxford Performance Materials
"This opportunity had a significant impact on my personal, professional, and academic growth. Through my Research & Development internship at Oxford Performance Materials, I gained hands-on experience in additive manufacturing, process validation, CAD, and data analysis while applying my biomedical engineering coursework to real-world projects. Overall, this opportunity has helped shape my future academic and career goals."
Learn about Oxford Performance Materials: https://www.oxfordpm.com/
Louisa Kinsley
Louisa Kinsley
Chemical Engineering
Yale University
Internship Project:
Analysis of Planetary Materials and Analogs Using Laser Mass Spectrometry
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
"This experience had a huge impact on my life and was truly the coolest summer I've ever had. I'm so grateful to CT Space Grant for the opportunity to learn from incredible scientists and researchers at NASA Goddard. By exploring new areas of science, hands-on research, and meaningful conversations with experts, I’ve gained a much clearer vision for my future career path. This internship changed how I think about graduate school, research, and the possibilities ahead. Through this experience, I have gained new confidence in pursuing a career in science and discovered opportunities I never knew existed."
Learn about NASA Internships: https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/internship-programs/
Teja Lakamraju
Teja Lakamraju
Biomedical Engineering
University of Connecticut
Internship Project:
Engineering & Compliance Intern
Oxford Performance Materials
"This award has shaped both my personal and professional life. I made great friends through this internship and learned about how companies operate, which roles appeal most to me, how I perform under pressure, which skills I excel at, and what I still need to improve. Through my internship, I gained experience in technical writing, literature reviews, additive manufacturing, CAD, automation, compliance, and engineering analysis. The projects I worked on contributed to process improvements, increased design flexibility, supported expansion into new markets, and helped streamline product development. Most importantly, the experience gave me the confidence to apply my classroom knowledge to real-world challenges and showed me the impact engineers can have in solving complex problems.”
Learn about Oxford Performance Materials: https://www.oxfordpm.com/
Aleena Marmolejos
Aleena Marmolejos
Engieering Science
CT State Community College - Naugatuck Valley
Internship Project:
North CT Student Observation Outreach
NEON ASTRO
"This internship had a significant impact on me both personally and professionally. As someone who has loved astronomy since I was a kid, working alongside people who share that passion was incredibly meaningful. The experience helped me build valuable connections, gain hands-on research experience, and reinforced my goal of combining engineering and astronomy in my future studies and career. It showed me firsthand how research can help us better understand our universe and opened my eyes to new opportunities for learning, collaboration, and discovery."
Learn about NEON ASTRO: https://www.neonastro.net/
Benjamin Richard
Benjamin Richard
Computer Engineering
CT State Community College - Gateway
Internship Project:
Asteroid Occultation Project
NEON ASTRO
"This opportunity gave me greater confidence in the value of my education and experiences. It encouraged me to broaden my perspective on where my skills can make an impact and reinforced my decision to pursue a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering. The experience helped clarify my career goals and strengthened my commitment to the field."
Learn about NEON ASTRO: https://www.neonastro.net/
Emily Sevigny
Emily Sevigny
Biomedical Engineering
University of Connecticut
Internship Project:
Continuous Improvement Team
Oxford Performance Materials
"My internship at Oxford Performance Materials had a significant impact on my academic and professional growth. It allowed me to apply my Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science coursework to real-world challenges in additive manufacturing and medical device production. Through hands-on experience with process development, testing, data analysis, and regulatory requirements, I strengthened my technical and problem-solving skills while gaining a clearer understanding of the engineering field I want to pursue. This experience increased my confidence as an engineer and reinforced how engineering research can improve the safety, quality, and reliability of medical devices."
Learn about Oxford Performance Materials:
https://www.oxfordpm.com/
Steven Sviridoff
Steven Sviridoff
Biotechnology
Southern Connecticut State University
Internship Project:
Novel drug discovery for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
Synovel Laboratory
"This internship had a significant impact on me both academically and professionally. As a biotechnology student, it reinforced my goal of pursuing a career in the pharmaceutical industry while showing me that classroom learning is just one piece of what a STEM career involves. Through hands-on drug discovery research, I gained valuable technical skills, learned how scientific teams collaborate, and developed a stronger understanding of how research can contribute to future treatments for complex diseases. The experience strengthened my confidence in pursuing graduate studies and helped clarify my long-term career path."