Abdul-Rashid in the rocket propulsion area at Stennis Space Center where he spent his summer internship.

Hameed Abdul-Rashid, a student at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, spent his summer interning in the rocket propulsion area at Stennis Space Center in Hancock County. Abdul-Rashid, of Gulfport, is now a sophomore in the computer science program at the Jefferson Davis Campus.

“One of my close friend’s dad works at NASA and I was told about their various internship opportunities, so I went online to apply,” he said. “This previous spring semester, I volunteered and taught an OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) course. One of my students had worked at Stennis for nearly 45 years and told me he would put in a good word for me. Not long after, I was contacted by NASA’s education department and was informed that I was selected to intern as web development support for the Rocket Propulsion Test(RPT) Program office. That was truly an exciting moment for me.”

While at NASA, his 10-week internship consisted of him reviewing the RPT Program office’s outdated website; creating a physical representation of the current website, a brochure, and other forms of publically accessed information; researching various agency websites to find recurring elements that could be incorporated in the future website; receiving feedback from the management on elements and overall design for the future site; creating various website design templates for the future website based on that feedback and pulling all the collected information together into a packaged plan – a physical document that will be used in hopes to limit miscommunication between parties involved when development starts.

With so much excitement in the RPT Program, Abdul-Rashid said it was difficult to choose just one awesome experience during his internship. He said one of the best was meeting astronaut Victor Glover. “I met him not once but twice,” he said “He has contagious positive energy and is passionate about the universe we live in. I inquired about his favorite books and he sent an extensive list to me on Twitter.”

Hameed Abdul-Rashid in front of Stennis Space Center, where he interned this summer.

Looking back on his college experience (he will finish at MGCCC in December), he had some words of advice for freshmen in the computer science program.  “Take advantage of the resources that you have at your disposal like YouTube and Google. MIT offers extensive videos and course work on various languages, Udemy, Coursera, Lynda.com, Codecademy.com, etc. The list is endless. You simply have to dive in. Do not assume that just by coming to class, doing the assignments, and getting your degree that you will be set for success. Focus on earning your chops in not only programming but life. Work on personal projects. Learn how to communicate with people from all walks of life. Go and experience new things. Engage various communities, and never stop learning!”

With both parents having taken classes at MGCCC, along with a cousin, Abdul-Rashid said that it was natural for him to consider the college. “MGCCC embodies the ideology of positioning the student on a path to success by offering numerous resources and opportunities. It just has to be taken advantage of by the individual student,” he said. “Plus, I am able to save money while here and still have the quality instruction and resources that I would have at the university.”

He said the instructors truly make the difference at MGCCC. Some of his favorite instructors have been mathematics instructors Andrea Clark and Sandra Peterson, computer science instructors Darrell Wright and Allison Mull, and social studies instructor Ryan Schilling.  “The fact that they all cared, listened, and gave me value was tremendous,” he said. “I am beyond thankful for being able to experience not only their classes but them as people. I wish to emulate their practices and morals in my life as well as share that with others.”

He said that Mull was the instructor who emphasized the importance of early internships in her programming class, bringing material to class about them, and offering to work with students. She worked with him on two potential alternate internships should the NASA internship not materialize, and she is continuing to working with him this fall in hopes that he can get an internship with Google in summer 2017.

In January, he will be transferring to The University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Park Campus to continue working on his bachelor’s degree in computer science. He said he looks forward to what the future holds. “I do plan to apply for a NASA internship again,” he said. “It was an incredible experience. I would also like to apply for internships at Google, Apple, Unity3D, and various other software-focused companies.  And somewhere between all of that and my classes, I’d like to do some traveling as well. It may seem like a lot to take on, but I know that with enough effort and persistence I can reach the stars.”

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