From Winner to Mentor: Marina’s Experience at the NASA Space Apps Competition

Ever since she was a child, Marina wondered what mysteries lie beyond what we know about the universe. As she got older, she got into watching videos about physics and participated in science projects. Later on, as the pandemic hit, Marina stumbled upon Harvard’s introductory course to computer science while looking for something she could use her extra time for. Before she knew it, she was already captivated by the fields of computer science and space for life.

Little did she know that she would be able to combine her areas of interest during her freshman year in a competition called NASA Space Apps. Last year, Marina’s team won the competition in Mountain View. This year, she returned to Mountain View with the aspirations of being a mentor to the Minerva first-year students participating in the 2024 NASA Space Apps hackathon.

What motivated you to mentor Class of 2028 teams in this competition? Were you the one who initiated it?

Our winning team of six was actually invited by the NASA Space Apps’ leadership to this year’s competition. Unfortunately, my teammates couldn’t make it, but I was lucky enough to travel to San Francisco as a mentor for the Class of 2028 (M28s).

Have you previously had any experience as a mentor?

I have previously mentored students for a global competition called Technovation. We collaborated on a project that had the goal of helping children build healthy habits through building an app. After the Technovation competition, I worked as a student ambassador and a judge for another team and did my best to provide feedback and pass on the knowledge I had gained.

Although another type of mentoring, I secured a position as a programming peer tutor at Minerva in my first year. My experiences as a mentor made me realize how much I appreciate this role – I love being able to share my experience with my mentees, help them avoid the same mistakes I have made in the past, and overall be a source of help for people. To me, mentorship is a gift that helps others expand their knowledge.

Tell me more about this year’s NASA Space Apps Challenge!

The NASA Space Apps Competition is a global program in which any student can participate – regardless of nationality or location. Participants must work in teams to devise a solution to one of the problems provided by NASA. Participants have to create a solution to a complex issue that is intuitive enough to be understood by the youth. These challenges can vary from vast questions, such as making exoplanets’ sounds accessible, to something highly specific, like optimizing the refilling process of spacecraft emergency tanks. The competition I participated in last year is just a local NASA Space Apps chapter that takes place in Mountain View every year. Fun fact: I actually once competed in this challenge while I was in high school in Brazil.

Last year, you were a winner of the NASA Space Apps Challenge. This year, you mentored Class of 2028 teams competing in the challenge. Can you tell me more about the difference between your experience as a team member last year and your mentor role this year?

Not delivering a project, but having last year’s experience made all the difference! Last year, I was still discovering how the NASA Space App Challenge worked. This year, the contest process was much clearer to me, allowing me to devote all my time and effort to mentoring M28 teams. Participants had to solve one of the problem challenges proposed by NASA. All projects contained a pitch presentation and a short demonstration of their solution in video. This year, after going through a similar project development experience, I would say I was more confident in contributing to the solution and felt more connected to the issue.

What has been your favorite activity as a NASA Space Apps mentor, and why?

I enjoyed listening to the brainstorming of their pitches and learning about how they present their deliverables – that part truly is where everything comes together. I loved helping my teams identify when a part of their presentation was unclear and making suggestions for how they could make it more interpretable. Also, I want to highlight that out of approximately 60 teams, 6 or 7 were from Minerva. And, I am even prouder to say Minerva teams managed to secure the competition’s first and second places.

How did your Minerva experience come in handy while mentoring the newest generation of Minervans in the competition?

Both in the first and second years, I genuinely felt an internal motivation that I believe Minerva ignites in us. Here, I would like to highlight #selfawareness, as participants must be driven enough to work towards something for which they will receive little guidance. At Minerva, you truly have to internalize self-discipline to the fullest extent – before each class, for instance, you need to take the initiative to learn something new independently.

How will this opportunity influence your future career? Have you established any significant connections or networks that you believe will be beneficial in the future?

After participating in this competition for two years, I know most of the organizers on a personal level. This is great because we can travel to this conference every year, allowing me to reconnect with some of my acquaintances and network with even more professionals and talented students.

Can you share a memorable, wholesome, or favorite moment from your mentoring experience?

My favorite moment is related to the final presentation of a team focused on solving the issue of enhancing people’s connection with nature. While preparing for their presentation, I advised them to start with something memorable. As a joke, I said they should begin their presentation by asking the audience: “Have you touched grass today?” We sort of laughed it off, but guess what? I ended up hearing that sentence in their final presentation. I appreciated how they kept my advice regarding the storytelling and creating an immersive experience.

What is an important lesson you learned while mentoring the M28s?

It is hard to put this into words, but I guess I will say, “Minervans will be Minervans.” It was genuinely heartwarming to experience the enthusiasm, energy, and internal drive of the M28s during the competition. Even after the contest, I could hear their excitement while reading their LinkedIn posts about their experience and enthusiastically thanking their teammates. Some things never change – witnessing curiosity, discipline, and the spirit of innovation is a universal experience at Minerva.

What’s next? What are some professional opportunities you look forward to pursuing?

On the more professional side, I would love to work as an assistant in machine learning this summer, ideally solving a problem related to the space industry. Another attractive area is using machine learning in a natural disaster response. I am on Minerva’s Sustainability AI Lab Team, so I will be spending the summer of 2025 interning in Japan with my team. In short, we will focus on building a productive model for wildfire spread to facilitate emergency response from the authorities.

‍

If you were inspired by Marina's story and are seeking a college experience that will teach you valuable pragmatic skills that will enable you to change the world, start your Minerva application today.