>> MY NAME IS CHRISTINA BIRCH.
I AM A BIO ENGINEER AND
A TRACK CYCLIST
FOR THE US NATIONAL TEAM,
AND I AM A 2021
NASA ASTRONAUT CANDIDATE.
I AM FROM GILBERT, ARIZONA
AND IT WAS A GREAT PLACE
TO GROW UP.
I GOT EXPOSURE TO
A LOT OF DIFFERENT STUFF
AT MY HIGH SCHOOL.
I TOOK ALL THE CLASSES I COULD,
EVERYTHING FROM ART TO SCIENCE,
MATH, PROGRAMMING,
AND I JUST FOUND IT TO BE
A REALLY GREAT PLACE
TO-TO BE OUTSIDE AND, UM,
EXPLORE THE DESERT,
SO I REALLY ENJOYED IT.
BEFORE I WAS SELECTED,
I WAS ACTUALLY RACING ON
THE US NATIONAL TEAM
AND TRYING TO GO TO THE OLYMPICS
IN TRACK CYCLING.
I RACED TWO OF THE TEAM EVENTS:
THE TEAM PURSUIT,
WHERE IT'S A TEAM OF FOUR
RACING ON THE VELODROME
TRYING TO GO AS FAST AS POSSIBLE
OVER 4 KILOMETERS,
AND THEN I ALSO RACED
THE MADISON,
WHICH IS A PARTNER RACE.
UH, IT'S A MASS START EVENT
THAT'S REALLY DYNAMIC
AND HAS SOME HAND SLINGS.
I THINK AN ASTRONAUT
IS THE MOST VISIBLE PART
OF A MUCH LARGER TEAM
OF INDIVIDUALS
THAT ARE STRIVING TO, UM,
IMPROVE HUMANITY, UM,
DO THINGS THAT HUMANKIND
HAS NEVER DONE BEFORE,
AND I THINK IT'S, UH,
IT'S JUST AN INCREDIBLE
OPPORTUNITY TO BE, UM,
ONE OF THE PEOPLE ACTUALLY
WITH HANDS-ON TO MAKE THESE, UM,
MAKE THESE BIG DREAMS HAPPEN
AND BE A PART OF, UM,
SOMETHING BIGGER THAN MYSELF.
I WAS ALWAYS EXCITED ABOUT, UH,
ABOUT SPACE
AND ABOUT ASTRONAUTS, UM,
BEING A LITTLE KID,
BUT I THINK IT WASN'T
UNTIL I WAS WORKING IN A LAB,
UM, THAT I STARTED TO REALIZE
THAT WHAT I WAS DOING
IN THE LAB MIMICS
SOME OF THE EXPERIMENTS
I SAW HAPPENING ON THE ISS,
AND SO, YOU KNOW,
I GOT REALLY EXCITED ABOUT
OTHER BIOLOGISTS, UM, YOU KNOW,
SUCH AS JESSICA MEIR,
BEING UP IN SPACE, UM,
CONTRIBUTING TO
THE SPACE PROGRAM,
AND I REALLY STARTED
TO CONSIDER, UM,
JOINING THE PROGRAM
BECAUSE I WANTED TO CONTRIBUTE,
UM, IN THAT WAY AND-AND, UM,
ALSO GET MY HANDS ON, UM,
DOING MAINTENANCE
AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
I REALLY ENJOYED
THE SELECTION PROCESS.
IT WAS, UH, A LITTLE BIT
DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF,
UM, COVID.
WE HAD TO WAIT A WHOLE YEAR, UM,
TO GET STARTED
IN THIS ELECTION PROCESS,
BUT THE INTERVIEW PROCESS
WAS REALLY FUN.
UH, EVERY, UM, EVERY OPPORTUNITY
I HAD TO SPEND TIME
AT JOHNSON SPACE CENTER
AND GET TO KNOW MY OTHER
INTERVIEWEES WAS INCREDIBLE.
THERE WERE INCREDIBLE PEOPLE
INTERVIEWING ALONGSIDE ME,
AND A FEW OF THOSE PEOPLE
ENDED UP BEING MY CLASSMATES,
AND ONE OF
THE REALLY COOL THINGS WAS
DURING THE INTERVIEW PROCESS,
WE STARTED TO CLICK
AS TEAMMATES ALREADY,
AND SO THAT MAKES ME
REALLY EXCITED
FOR WHAT'S TO COME.
I RECEIVED THE CALL, UM,
WHEN I WAS AT HOME
IN MY FAMILY'S CATTLE RANCH
IN MONTANA,
AND IT WAS ACTUALLY THE SAME DAY
THAT MY PARTNER WAS RACING
THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, UM,
IN EUROPE,
AND SO I GOT THIS
REALLY POSITIVE NEWS,
AND THEN A FEW HOURS LATER
HE WON
THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE
IN HIS EVENT,
AND SO IT WAS JUST
A REALLY SPECIAL DAY
FOR-FOR BOTH OF US
AND WE GOT TO-TO SHARE
AND BE EXCITED FOR EACH OTHER.
I'VE ALWAYS BEEN REALLY INSPIRED
BY MY TEAMMATES AND COLLEAGUES,
SO WHEN I WAS
A GRADUATE STUDENT,
I HAD SOME
REALLY INCREDIBLE LABMATES
THAT WERE REALLY
CREATIVE THINKERS
AND JUST HAD A UNIQUE WAY
OF DOING THINGS,
AND I GOT TO LEARN FROM THEM,
AND THEN, YOU KNOW,
TRAINING AS A CYCLIST,
I WORK ALONGSIDE
INCREDIBLY TALENTED, UH, RIDERS,
AND THEY MOTIVATED ME
TO PUSH HARD
AND-AND BRING MY BEST EVERYDAY.
I HAD A REALLY SPECIAL
HIGH SCHOOL BIOLOGY TEACHER:
MRS. JAVANTEZ,
AND SHE DID THIS EXPERIMENT
WITH US IN CLASS THAT WAS, UH,
DNA FINGERPRINTING, UM,
AND SHE MADE UP
THIS ELABORATE CRIME SCENE STORY
AND IT INVOLVED THE WHOLE CLASS,
AND WHAT WAS--
WHAT WAS REALLY SPECIAL
WAS THAT SHE GOT US ALL
REALLY EXCITED,
THAT WE FORGOT THAT
WE WERE LEARNING AND
MEMORIZING THINGS IN BIOLOGY,
AND I THINK THAT
THAT'S SOMETHING I'VE ALWAYS,
UM, TRIED TO DO
IN MY OWN TEACHING, UH,
AS A TEACHER,
IS TO GET-GET MY STUDENTS
EXCITED ABOUT THE SCIENCE,
AND NOT JUST THE FACTS,
BUT HOW YOU COULD APPLY IT.
I CANNOT WAIT TO START TRAINING.
UM, I REALLY LIKE TRAINING
FOR BIG GOALS.
UH, SOMETHING THAT I'M USED TO
WITH-WITH CYCLING, AND I'M--
UH, LOVED THE DIVERSITY
OF ALL THE PROBLEMS
THAT LIE AHEAD
AND ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES
TO LEARN ALONGSIDE MY CLASSMATES
AND, UH, OUR INTERNATIONAL
COLLABORATORS.
I-I BRUSH MY TEETH
LIKE EVERY OTHER HUMAN, UM,
OR AS EVERY OTHER HUMAN SHOULD.
UM, YOU KNOW, I-I DO--
I DO THE LITTLE THINGS WELL,
SO THAT I CAN HAVE
A MACROSCOPIC IMPACT.
YEAH, I-I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW,
I TRY AND BE PRESENT
AND AUTHENTIC
AND-AND BRING-BRING MY FULL SELF
TO-TO WHATEVER PROBLEM
IS AT HAND AND-AND
JUST TO BE FULLY PRESENT
FOR THE EXPERIENCE,
AND I THINK THAT
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT,
YOU KNOW, WE ALL CAN SHARE IN.
I'M MOSTLY LOOKING FORWARD TO
BEING UP THERE WITH MY CREWMATES
AND TURNING AND-AND
TAKING A LOOK BACK AT THE EARTH
AND I'M THAT-THAT'S
JUST ONE OF THE MOST SPECIAL
UNTING VIEWS, UM,
THAT-THAT YOU COULD
POSSIBLY EXPERIENCE AND-AND
JUST THAT FEELING
THAT WE'RE REALLY
ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
UH, I WOULD REALLY LIKE
THAT PERSPECTIVE.
YEAH, SO OBVIOUSLY
I DO ENJOY RIDING MY BIKE.
NOT ALWAYS COMPETITIVELY,
I DO JUST LIKE TO RIDE AROUND
IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, BUT I ALSO TRY TO DO A LOT
OF OTHER ACTIVE THINGS.
UM, I LIKE BACKPACKING.
I LIKE CAMPING.
UM, I ALSO HAVE A--
I ALSO DO SOME KNITTING, UM,
WHEN I GOT DOWNTIME.
THE BEST ADVICE I HAVE RECEIVED
ABOUT BEING AN ASTRONAUT
IS TO RELY ON MY-MY CLASSMATES.
UM, I THINK THAT
THEY'RE INCREDIBLY
TALENTED PEOPLE:
SMART, FUNNY, KIND,
AND I THINK WE'RE GONNA
GO THROUGH A LOT TOGETHER
AND I WANT TO BE THERE FOR THEM
AND-AND I'M GONNA LEAN ON THEM
AS WELL.
I HAVE TO SAY, THE-THE--
IF I COULD GO ANYWHERE
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,
IT WOULD PROBABLY BE
TO THE VERY EDGE,
AND THEN LOOK BACK.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S THIS
FAMOUS-FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPH
CAPTURED BY, UM, YOU KNOW,
ONE OF-ONE OF OUR SATELLITES
THAT WENT OUT THERE LOOKING BACK
AND SEEING ALL OF OUR--
ALL OF OUR PLANETS AND OUR SUN,
AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE
JUST THE MOST INCREDIBLE SPACE,
UH, SPACE TO BE IN.
SO THE WAY THAT I ALWAYS STUDIED
WAS I ALWAYS TRIED TO
TURN IT INTO A GAME,
AND I'D START BY
ASKING THIS QUESTION,
WHICH WAS SORT OF A, UH,
AN OFFENSE/ DEFENSE QUESTION,
WHICH IS, "WHAT DO I NOT KNOW,
LIKE, WHAT DO I HAVE
THE LEAST CONFIDENCE IN?"
AND I WOULD GO-GO TO WORK
AND TRY TO TACKLE THAT PROBLEM
AND BE LIKE,
"OKAY, YOU THINK YOU GOT ME?
I'M GONNA PROVE YOU WRONG."
UM, AND SO I WOULD FO--
KIND OF WOULD SEEK OUT
THESE AREAS
WHERE I DIDN'T KNOW THE ANSWER
AND MAKE A GAME OF IT.
MAKE IT FUN.
WHEN I WAS A KID,
WE WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO, UM,
HAVE A MICROSCOPE IN OUR HOUSE.
SO, MY MOM BOUGHT US
THIS MICROSCOPE, AND SO,
I WOULD LOOK AT MICROBES
FROM THE WATER IN OUR POOL
OR IN A POND
IN THE NEIGHBOR'S YARD AND
JUST GETTING TO SEE THINGS, UM,
WITH A LITTLE MORE CRITICAL EYE,
AND ASK THESE CURIOUS, UH,
EXPLORATORY QUESTIONS, UH,
MADE ME REALLY EXCITED
ABOUT SCIENCE IN GENERAL.
I THINK OF ONE OF THE CHALLENGES
THAT I HAD IN SCHOOL
WAS I WAS REALLY ATTRACTED TO
A LOT OF DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES.
I THOUGHT A LOT OF DIFFERENT,
UM, A LOT OF DIFFERENT CLASSES
WERE FUN,
AND I JUST DIDN'T HAVE
ENOUGH TIME TO TAKE THEM ALL,
AND SO I THINK IT-IT'S IMPORTANT
TO FOLLOW WHAT
YOU'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT
AND KNOW THAT THERE WILL BE TIME
LATER IN YOUR LIFE
TO EXPLORE OTHER THINGS
THAT YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN,
BUT TRULY FOLLOW
WHAT YOU'RE MOST INTERESTED IN.
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT ENGINEERING
IS THAT IT TAKES, FOR ME,
SCIENCE TO ANOTHER LEVEL,
AND IT INTEGRATES MATH
WHICH I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED
AS WELL,
AND IT SAYS NOT JUST
"WHAT IS GOING ON,"
BUT "CAN WE TINKER WITH
WHAT IS GOING TO
SOLVE ALL THESE OTHER PROBLEMS?"
AND I LOVE THAT HANDS-ON PROBLEM
SOLVING MINDSET, AND I--
THAT'S WHY I PURSUED A DEGREE
IN ENGINEERING.
I THINK
IT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT
TO HAVE WOMEN
IN THE ENGINEERING FIELDS
BECAUSE WE ARE GREAT
PROBLEM SOLVERS.
WE'RE GREAT COMMUNICATORS,
AND I THINK THAT SOME OF MY, UM,
MY BEST MENTORS
IN GRADUATE SCHOOL
WERE FEMALE SCIENTISTS
THAT I GOT TO SEE SOLVING
THESE REALLY DIFFICULT PROBLEMS,
AND IT'S JUST A REALLY EXCITING,
FUN PLACE TO WORK,
AND SO IT-IT'S-ITS A PLACE
WHERE WE WANT TO SEE
MORE REPRESENTATION.