USF Student Interns at NASA

TAMPA, Fla. -- To those small children dreaming of spaceships and walking on the moon, University of South Florida student Marie Chenowith has one thing to say: keep dreaming big.

The mechanical engineering student just completed a semester-long internship in the robotics department of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Tx. and is back at USF to finish her last semester for her bachelors degree.

It hasn't been an easy journey, Chenowith said.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, where Chenowith is from. Her family's house and all their belongings were destroyed so the family was forced for relocate, with barely more than the clothes on their backs and a box of photos, to Florida.

She took three years off from school, working three jobs, to help her family get back on their feet.

"I graduated from high school in 2002 and here it is 2012 now so it's been 10 years working on my degree with all the ups and downs between Katrina and having my family move around," Chenowith said. "It has been a long struggle but because I've had my family there to support me I've been able to look forward to my future."

Chenowith admits she was nervous about the NASA internship coming to an end. She doesn't know what to expect after graduation, but she's hopeful the internship will help her in her career.

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