 My name is Eloise Moring and I'm a sophomore in AeroAstro Engineering at Purdue. This past spring I worked with Dr. Free in the Space Information Dynamics Group and I helped to create 3D satellite models using the software SolidWorks to aid in satellite characterization. We did this to help identify space debris versus active satellites in Earth's atmosphere. As a first-time undergraduate researcher, I didn't really know where to begin, especially as a freshman, as far as finding a research opportunity. So taking the FYE elective intro to undergrad research allowed me to explore the different possibilities of my major and what I wanted to do with it. They really helped me to reach out to different professors and find what interested me as far as research at Purdue. I emailed Dr. Free and she kind of created a position for me with Daigo Kobayashi and I helped him create the 3D models for his light simulation software. I feel like research and schoolwork kind of go hand in hand. Working research in something you're passionate about really helps to center you and remember why you're working towards the degree that you are. And working with Dr. Free, I was able to learn more about space debris and space debris mitigation. It's always a challenge, a good challenge, working with first-time researchers. Of course they have not taken a lot of classes yet, so some of the background knowledge for the more complicated problems are lacking. On the other hand, some of the first-time researchers already bring experiences from internships or from clubs and therefore can bring in and leverage that. It was really helpful to get guidance from Daigo who was very familiar with Python programming and he helped me to become more fluent in the language. The first time I was asked by Dr. Free to do a mentor for her. This was totally the first time for me to do that kind of mentorship. But she was already self-dependent, very dedicated. I didn't have to give her basic advice about the attitude toward research. She already has some foundation about how to cope with some unknown problems. In principle, undergraduate research is easier when you're later in the program because you have taken some of the classes and you also get a better idea of what some of the fields mean. On the other hand, I also get it, you're excited and you want to get involved early. I would tell students that are interested in getting involved in undergrad research to get started early and do research in what you're passionate about because that will greatly influence how your career goes. When you get involved, we're also relying on you being self-motivated and being able to follow a project at least for one semester. Ideally, it's even longer than one semester. Your career path isn't a straight line, so I think that finding things that you're interested in along the way is really beneficial in creating a career that's right for you. So working with Dr. Free and her group really helped me to narrow down that I'm more interested in astrodynamics and space applications. And in the future, I know that that's something I want to specialize in.