Sagrado Alumna makes it to NASA

Communicator Laura Ramos Lugo recently completed her first internship at the famed federal agency devoted to the exploration of the universe.

Laura Ramos Lugo. (Photo supplied)

By Liz Yanira Del Valle
Collaborator

She’s not an engineer or a scientist. But Laura Ramos Lugo made it to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

This graduate of Sagrado’s Master’s degree in Digital Journalism recently completed her first internship at the famous federal agency devoted to exploring the universe. Ramos Lugo was selected among nearly 700 applicants to the NASA DAY internship program to fill a position in the communications area and in the Education Office at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The communicator could not travel there due to the pandemic, so she did her work virtually under the mentorship of two agency employees: David Culp, from the Communications Department, and Puerto Rican Lester Morales, from the Education Office.

“I served as a content translator, wrote articles for the web, produced content for social networks, transcribed videos, and wrote scripts. At the Education Office, I helped create a preliminary sketch for the NASA DAY project web portal, as well as collaborating with the development of a strategic communications plan for NASA DAY events to be held in different states,” she explained.

Since it was a good experience, she applied for a second NASA internship and will now work at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Her current mentor is the director of NASA en Español, María José Viñas. “I’ll be there until December. I translate for the web and write articles in English and Spanish,” she added.

For Ramos Lugo, who has also worked with media outlets such as CNN en Español, Radio Isla, and GFR Media, this has been a challenge.

Topics include space science, chemistry, botany, astronomy, and physics. “I read a lot and do research before interviewing my sources, who are scientists,” she said, adding that she enjoys it twice as much when she has to work with Puerto Rican scientists.

However, she stated that the interaction with professionals of different nationalities and diverse areas of expertise has been immense. “You learn a lot and you broaden your perspectives on many issues in life,” said the intern, who also wants everyone to known that the agency has opportunities for students from different disciplines.

This alumna is happy to represent not only Puerto Rico, but also her alma mater at NASA.

“I owe Sagrado a lot regarding all this. The security of having reinforced my knowledge in media production and learning new skills during my Master’s degree was crucial to saying yes to this opportunity. I’m very happy,” she said.

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