Hi! My name is Julia. I am in graduate school (that means 17th grade!). My job is to talk to spaceships and ask them what’s going on in space! They tell me, but they talk in a secret code of numbers that I have to decode using my computer. Once I’ve figured out their secret language, I write stories using what the spaceships told me about life in space.

What inspired you to explore STEM when you were young?

Looking at the stars! I was always fascinated by how big the universe is and how much we have to learn about it. I always wanted to be a part of bringing the stars to Earth, and now I am!

What do you enjoy most about what you do in your STEM career?

I love getting to talk about space all day! Each day at work, I get to engage with the thing that excites me most in the world.

What is a fun, bizarre or insightful STEM fact about your field?

The satellite I’m using to learn about space is only about 1 foot long!