![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lrc-2024-ocio-p-00687.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u201cNot only was I going to school, raising a family, and working a full-time job, but I was also the state director for my sorority [and was responsible for] over 1,200 members at one time. And I think it comes down to perseverance. At the end of the day, you\u2019re going to do what needs to be done if you truly want to get it done. You\u2019re going to make the sacrifices that you need to make in order to be successful.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a night person. So my big homework hours were between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. I made the time because it was important. And we all do that \u2014 we make the time for what\u2019s important to us. I hear people say, \u2018There\u2019s no way I could have done that.\u2019 Well, it\u2019s easy when you truly want something with your whole heart.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026When I actually defended my dissertation and my family was able to attend, that\u2019s when it hit them. They were like, \u2018You did all this while we were asleep? You did all this while we were on family vacation?\u2019 I could feel the pride from them because for them, it seemed like it was seamless. But for me, it was heavy. It was heavy, but necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe in giving people their roses while they\u2019re still here to collect them. A few years before I started my doctorate program, my mother had a medical issue and we thought we were going to lose her. And that was the point that I said, \u2018I need to go to school and I need to do this for her, because I want her to see me walk across that stage.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201c[Getting my doctorate] made me sit up a little straighter. It\u2019s made me smile a little bit more. It\u2019s made me feel like I can do anything. Not many people can say that.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026It is something that at the end of the day, no one could ever take away from me. Ever. No matter how much money I have in the bank, no matter where I live or if I have a roof over my head, no one can ever take that away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Dr. Danielle May, Contract Specialist, NASA\u2019s Langley Research Center<\/p>\n
Image Credit: NASA\/Mark Knopp Check out some of our other Faces of NASA.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a> \u201cNot only was I going to school, raising a family, and working a full-time job, but I was also the state director for my sorority [and was responsible for] over 1,200 members at one time. And I think it comes down to perseverance. At the end of the day, you\u2019re going to do what needs [\u2026] Continue reading
Interviewer: NASA\/Thalia Patrinos<\/em><\/p>\n
\nTahira S. Allen <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"