Joalda Morancy (@solarsystem) Astrophysics/Geophysics Undergrad University of Chicago From childhood to now, what has your STEM journey been like? How has your understanding and interest towards science evolved? I feel like when I was younger I was really interested in science. It was just like a thing. I didn’t have one thing that got me into science - I was always interested in it. I think during high school I was trying to figure out what I was actually into. So the summer before my sophomore year of high school, I found this video of an astronaut making a sandwich on the International Space Station and I thought this was really cool - it just popped up on my recommended feed. So I watched more videos and I learned more and realized I really like space science. That kind of kick started my space science journey. So ever since then, I’ve always wanted to work in the space industry in some format but I didn't know what exactly I wanted to do. I just knew I wanted to do something regarding space science. That led me down this rabbit hole of figuring out what ı wanted to do. I thought I wanted to do engineering, then I realized I didn’t want to do engineering. That was a whole thing. I applied to college planning on going into engineering because that was the best idea I had at the moment. But then I landed at a school that had no engineering at it. So I decided to major in physics and I thought: “This isn’t really for me.” but it was the best I could get to. My second year of college I took this called “What Makes A Planet Habitable” and I thought it was cool. Learning about planetary science and everything. Then I thought: “Okay, I think I’ll do planetary science.” and that’s basically where I am now. I find the planet Mars really interesting. I find it really cool. That’s the basics of everything.
Interview with Joalda Morancy
Interview with Joalda Morancy
Interview with Joalda Morancy
Joalda Morancy (@solarsystem) Astrophysics/Geophysics Undergrad University of Chicago From childhood to now, what has your STEM journey been like? How has your understanding and interest towards science evolved? I feel like when I was younger I was really interested in science. It was just like a thing. I didn’t have one thing that got me into science - I was always interested in it. I think during high school I was trying to figure out what I was actually into. So the summer before my sophomore year of high school, I found this video of an astronaut making a sandwich on the International Space Station and I thought this was really cool - it just popped up on my recommended feed. So I watched more videos and I learned more and realized I really like space science. That kind of kick started my space science journey. So ever since then, I’ve always wanted to work in the space industry in some format but I didn't know what exactly I wanted to do. I just knew I wanted to do something regarding space science. That led me down this rabbit hole of figuring out what ı wanted to do. I thought I wanted to do engineering, then I realized I didn’t want to do engineering. That was a whole thing. I applied to college planning on going into engineering because that was the best idea I had at the moment. But then I landed at a school that had no engineering at it. So I decided to major in physics and I thought: “This isn’t really for me.” but it was the best I could get to. My second year of college I took this called “What Makes A Planet Habitable” and I thought it was cool. Learning about planetary science and everything. Then I thought: “Okay, I think I’ll do planetary science.” and that’s basically where I am now. I find the planet Mars really interesting. I find it really cool. That’s the basics of everything.