By Pamela Barnes
After more than a decade working at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), I made a decision that would alter my life forever. With the support of my then-husband, I stepped away from a fulfilling career to become a full-time student at the University of Maryland, stay-at-home mom, and housewife.
Letting go of my professional identity with a globally recognized health and medical institution was not easy. The departure coincided with the unraveling of my marriage, which eventually led to our separation.
By my second year in business and paralegal studies, I interned at a law firm that handled tort cases. Though it provided valuable insight, the long days and weekend workloads left me disillusioned and exhausted. The reality of my situation—two young children, no partner, and no job that offered a livable wage or benefits pressed down hard on all senses of sensibility.
That’s when a family member told me NASA Headquarters was hiring temporary employees. I applied and was accepted. Within a year, I had secured a full-time position. What began as a lifeline became a lifelong mission.
NASA wasn’t just a workplace; it was a community fueled by intellect, imagination, and an unrelenting pursuit of knowledge. The focus on human health and safety resonated with my earlier work and my growing curiosity about how space could serve life on Earth. I wasn’t just surrounded by professionals; I was surrounded by stars. These were individuals of extraordinary capability, collaborating across disciplines to explore space and solve problems here on Earth.
In my 20+ years at NASA, I witnessed firsthand how lessons learned from tragedy, like the Columbia Shuttle accident – gave rise to systemic improvements in risk management, crew health protocols, and mission assurance. I also saw the successes of the Mars rovers, the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, and the numerous medical innovations from spaceflight to application in hospitals.
Today, I often look up to take notice of the expansiveness of the heavens. And, just like the twinkling specks scattered (sometimes shooting) across the backdrop of the night sky, there is an intelligence, beyond human imagination, to find one’s space among stars.
