Written by: Nina SanBartolome (aes012@marietta.edu)
Hailey Fincher, also well known as Star, is a freshman here at Marietta College. Originally from Ashville, Ohio. Fincher is majoring in physics with a minor in astronomy. Her interests in space started long before her time at Marietta College. Fincher has loved space since she was young, but as a young girl, she never saw women in the roles she wanted. leading her to believe she could never make a long-term career out of it. However, that changed the summer before her senior year of high school, when she took part in an unpaid internship at NASA.
Fincher’s mom found the program on Facebook. It was first open only to Ohio residents, then expanded to a few more states. Then finally opened nationwide because of high demand. To apply, Fincher wrote three essays. One about why she wanted to go, the next about her past leadership opportunities, and finally, the last was about her overall past experiences. She then needed two teacher recommendations. Fincher applied in May and didn’t expect to get in, since so many students were applying. The email arrived the next month while she was home alone, and her parents were on their way back from a cruise. Fincher assumed it was a rejection. Instead, she was one of only 20 students accepted. She started sobbing, happy tears, and called her parents, who were over the moon about the good news.
Fincher’s summer was busy. She went to a week-long camp, came home for a day, and then left for NASA. The internship was a week-long program at NASA’s John Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. However, because the drive from her home near Columbus was too long to do every day, her family rented an Airbnb. The internship was unpaid, but NASA covered most expenses; the Airbnb was the only thing they needed to pay for.
The entire week was extremely professional. Students had a formal dress code with dress shoes, and they wore badges that required showing a state-approved ID. Family members got badges too, and everyone needed them to get through the gates. After an orientation on the first day, each morning started in a homeroom-style classroom with a lesson followed by the students doing hands-on work. They would then eat lunch with real, paid NASA employees. Each day ended with a tour of the different buildings at the research center. Fincher expressed excitement about secret upcoming projects she learned about during her time there.
Everything they did was built towards a goal: they were to put on a final presentation together for families and paid interns. To Fincher’s surprise, it was also being broadcasted online for millions to see. Her team of four built a rover from the ground up, first using circuits, then moved over to coding, and lastly 3D printing. They worked towards getting their rover up a 45° slope in a rover pit at NASA.
Fincher had never liked public speaking, but nobody else in her group wanted to present. So, taking on a leadership role, she stepped up and spoke for the majority of their presentation. She learned a lot about leadership there, because she often had to take action and guide her teammates.
The experience changed Hailey “Star” Fincher in many ways. She had never coded before, but now she is taking a coding class here at Marietta College and enjoying it. She also learned how to 3D print and learned how circuits work. She left her internship with merchandise, a plaque with her name on it, a certificate of completion, and a letter of recommendation from NASA. Most importantly, she got a contact card for the advisor who led the program. That week provided her the foundation that she needed to see she could do this kind of work long term and helped give her a deeper love for air and space.
Today, Fincher has a clear plan. Her dream is to work for NASA, and she has an interest in observational astronomy. She hopes to return to NASA Glenn to work in environmental observation, or pursue a computer-oriented field with NASA. Thought if those don’t work out, she would be happy to become a high school teacher, as she loves teaching people about the things she is passionate about. For a girl who once didn’t think she belonged in this field, Hailey now has a path in front of her.
Edited by: Rebecca Straits (rjs006@marietta.edu)
