Inside South Florida recently welcomed Nicolas Gonzalez, a bright young mind from Miami-Dade Honors College who recently completed an incredible internship with NASA at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Nicolas shared his unique experience and insights from his time working with one of the most prestigious space agencies in the world.
Nicolas's internship was not just about watching rockets launch into space. It was more scientific and technical, focused primarily on software development and automation. "My role was to optimize processes and make things efficient," Nicolas explained. "How can we make things faster without the need for a person to manually do them on the keyboard?"
Every day began with a weekly briefing where he laid out his tasks and organized his meetings. The work itself involved deep problem-solving, as he had to find ways to enhance NASA’s software systems to improve efficiency.
Interestingly, Nicolas's favorite part of the internship was "getting stuck." For him, this was an opportunity to dive deeper into the world of software development. "In computer science, when you get stuck, you have to start reading a lot, trying many things that may or may not work. That was my favorite part because it was a learning process," he said.
Nicolas's journey to NASA began long before his college years. He started learning to code in Python at just six years old. At Miami-Dade Honors College, he joined the Robotics and AI Club, where he honed his skills and explored the potential of robotics and artificial intelligence. This background was crucial in securing one of only two internship slots at NASA, highlighting his exceptional talent and dedication to his field.
As he heads into his second year at Miami-Dade, Nicolas has already been named the president of the Robotics Club. He aims to bring the professional and leadership skills he learned at NASA to his new role. "At NASA, they teach you how to be a professional and a leader, not just focus on the technical aspects. I want to implement that into the Robotics Club," Nicolas shared.
Looking ahead, Nicolas has his sights set on another NASA internship, this time in Houston, where he hopes to work on software development for rovers destined for the Moon and Mars. "I want to be a part of that heavy metal stuff," he said enthusiastically.
For those interested in following Nicolas's journey and the exciting projects of the Robotics Club, you can find him on Instagram at @nicolasgonzalezm_09. You can also follow the Miami-Dade College Robotics Club on Instagram at @mdcroboticsnorthcampus.
