NASA Langley Research Center has officially accepted second-year Danville Community College (DCC) student Tyler Tharpe for a prestigious internship at their facility in Hampton, VA.
According to NASA, The Langley Internship program is “a paid educational, hands-on experience that creates opportunities for students to come to NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia to conduct robust research and work on exciting projects while working side-by-side with NASA’s finest scientists, researchers, engineers and mission support teams. The program is specifically open to undergraduate and graduate students year-round for the Fall, Spring and Summer sessions. This program provides real research experiences in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics as well as in business, communication, marketing, and other areas that support NASA’s mission.”
As a student in the Precision Machining and Technology (PMT) program at DCC, Tharpe was made aware of the internship program by his professor, Josh McDowell.
"They specifically reached out to us due to our nationally recognized program," McDowell said.
“He (McDowell) received an email from NASA asking for capable students to apply for an internship,” said Tharpe. “I filled out an application and sent in my resume.”
The program has stringent requirements that must be met in order to be selected, including:
• U.S. citizenship,
• Cumulative 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale,
• Minimum of 16 years of age and at least a high school sophomore when the internship begins
• A letter of recommendation, electronically submitted by the writer directly,
• Student full-time enrollment in high school, undergraduate or graduate programs at an accredited college or university.
Tharpe applied for the internship because aerospace has always been of interest to him.
“I have been considering the aerospace field after graduation and there is no name more distinguished than NASA in this field,” said Tharpe.
Tharpe believes that his experience in the PMT program at DCC has prepared him for this exciting opportunity and opened the door into a career field that he loves.
"I believe PMT program is a one-of-a-kind program with instructors that push you to learn as much as possible,” said Tharpe. “The machine shop is a state-of-the-art facility, which allows students to learn on latest equipment that is used in the workforce.”
Danville Community College is a two-year institution of higher education under the state-wide Virginia Community College System. DCC's service area includes the City of Danville, Pittsylvania County, and Halifax County. For more information about the college’s nearly 100 programs of study, visit www.danville.edu.
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