May 16, 2011 19:41
So within a few minutes of just looking and talking and researching with my mom, I think I figured out what my next steps are going to be. I've decided that I'm going to apply to University of Denver, for a Masters in Mechanical Engineering. It's clear to me that the mechanical engineering is what I wanted, not the aerospace. But it gets better. Once I've been accepted to DU, I'm going to start the application process to see if I can become a Grad Co-op at JSC. I still want to do the education outreach part, and I've e-mailed the director of the Education office at JSC to see if they can give me some hints on how to get into that office.
So I'm excited about this new journey that I'm getting ready to take. But I'm nervous. I need to come up with 3 letters of rec. I have one, and I think I have to use my academic advisor, but I don't know who the third should be. I could ask my mentor from my first internship, but I'm concerned that she may be super busy, and would asking her to write me a letter of rec be an imposition? There's another professor that I really liked, that I might be able to ask, but I haven't talked to him since graduation, so would it be...wrong for me to email him out of the blue and ask for a letter of rec? And if those two aren't options, who do I ask? I am not asking my current boss. No way, no how. I'd ask office manager, but I don't think she could really speak to my engineering qualities. So who else do I ask? I can't ask my parents, and I don't think I could ask family friends, I need someone who knows my engineering skills.
I did email a professor at DU that does research in Acoustic Emissions. I don't completely understand what it is, but he does some non-destructive testing, so I could be interested. ((Though, I'd prefer destructive testing, but beggars can't be choosers))
But that isn't really the part that has me most concerned. The part that has me most concerned is that I have to write a 300 minimum essay. I have to write it about myself, and my qualities and why I want to go to DU, and what I'm hoping to accomplish.
So I'm excited and terrified all at the same time. It looks like I may be staying in CO for a little bit longer. But if I get accepted to the Grad Co-op program, I'll be alternating semesters at JSC. With the hope that I'll impress people so much that at the end of my Masters program, I get offered a position. But that's getting ahead of myself.
Hooray moving forward!