Minnetonka High School junior Quinn Hughes was selected to participate in the NASA STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) summer internship program this year. Held at the University of Texas, Austin, it is a joint project between the Cockrell School of Engineering and NASA. The program gives students the opportunity to explore studies in both earth and space sciences while working with both NASA personnel and student peers with similar interests. Hughes was one of 100 students chosen from more than 2,000 applicants.

“I met wonderful students from all over the country and made some great friends,” shared Hughes. “We were divided into teams and each team had a project. For my team’s project, we analyzed astronaut photography of Earth over time to observe and report changes over time in the Earth’s hydrosphere and then we presented those results to a group of NASA scientists.” ​​​

Hughes’s biggest challenge throughout her team’s project was figuring out how to manage the large amount of image data available within NASA’s systems. “I learned a lot about many of NASA’s publicly available data sources and how to find what you are looking for,” said Hughes. Besides the project, student interns participated in outings to places like iFly and the Johnson Space Center and met with NASA astronauts. 

Hughes has been interested in STEM topics and competing in science fairs since she was in sixth grade. “For my latest project, I invented a method for sustainable agriculture on Mars, which combined my interest in plant science and outer space,” said Hughes. The project earned her four awards at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and third place at the JSHS National Symposium. 

Hughes shared that her curiosity about off-earth agriculture, combined with her love of the movie The Martian, inspired her to apply for the NASA internship. “The application process required me to send my transcript, write some essays, record a personal video and get a teacher recommendation. Prior to attending, all the interns were required to do online training modules,” said Hughes. “This internship has solidified my interest in pursuing a career in research and my goal is to work for NASA someday. If you are interested in STEM, I highly recommend checking it out.”