Kristien Melass

I would say determination and motivation, and I've always had a desire to be part of something that is bigger than myself. Being a mother is obviously one of those things, but it's the whole reason why I chose marine biology as a major - because the ocean is just incredible, there's so much about it that we don't know, and I can say the same thing about space. I just wanted to be a part of something that is bigger than myself, and something that can make a difference for the better of the world.

Obviously, never give up. I got advice one time from someone who told me to just - when you're looking at a job description, don't take every line to heart. You know, if you think you're interested in it, just apply for it. You never know what could happen. So keep an open mind, try everything. If something seems like it's falling into your lap, give it a shot. There's a reason why it's falling into your lap. I've really taken that to heart, and I've done so many different things at NASA that I never in a million years thought I would do or could be qualified for, but, you know, I applied, got it, and have been successful at it.

I would say be patient and try not to get frustrated easily. Because it is an intimidating industry. It's very male-dominated, however, there are more and more women that I'm seeing getting hired, and so that's a great thing. I would say find a mentor right away that you can bounce ideas and questions off of, and don't be afraid to ask questions. You know, even to senior leadership, a lot of young women come in and they feel nervous to approach senior leadership, and I've found that that's the best way to ease your stresses about the job is to reach out and ask those questions.

The biggest challenges are just learning everything there is to learn in order to do your job well. Because to work here, there's so many different organizations and different moving parts, and so you really have to understand a little bit of everything to get the big picture of why your job is important, and what you can do and understand to make it better. That's a big challenge, is just learning how everything works and operates, and the people involved, and all of their different positions and titles. It really is thousands of people, and so that's a challenge. The biggest opportunity I can think of is just the chance to work at a place where there really aren't many limits as to what we can achieve as an agency together. You know, we're going back to the moon, and we're even looking at going to Mars in the future, and so I think there's opportunities out there that we don't even know exist yet, and they're huge.

Honesty, integrity - I think it's important to be transparent and to communicate well. I think loyalty is important. I definitely put my family and my children before everything else. Work is very important to me, but they are my foundation. So, family is definitely very high on the priority list. I'm very grateful that I got to be home with them for so long.