Introduction

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​Hello, my name is Angelica Lee. My passion for space started when I was young but I had always classified it as a side passion and not something that I could actually work in. As a field it always felt too prestigious for me. It always fascinated me how beautiful and vast the universe was and how little we know about it. Lately, I have been amazed by all the spinoff technological innovations we have been able to transfer from a space-context to real applications on Earth, such as water filters or GPS satellites for GoogleMaps!

At UW, I joined the cube satellite design team which slowly reignited my passion for space after meeting others who were also equally passionate. It was only after randomly seeing student job postings for the Canadian Space Agency on their website, and shooting my shot for applications, that I truly sought out my passion for space. Being in such a welcoming environment that encouraged me to learn more about space at the CSA really changed my whole perspective. To be honest, I struggled very hard with imposter syndrome, as I didn’t see anyone living out my ideal career path. After joining as a student, I felt my passion was validated even though I was from a non-technical sector, and it reignited tenfold. I accelerated my involvement in learning as much as I could, joining different initiatives at the CSA, and am currently trying to learn as much as I can.

What was the company culture like?

​​My favourite part of working in the aerospace industry, particularly at the Canadian Space Agency, is how eager and passionate everyone I’ve met is about space and their willingness to chat with you about their journeys when you show you’re passionate too. When you are passionate about something and take initiative to reach your goals, many people are more willing to help you. Everyone I’ve met was welcoming and not elitist at all; they were humble. I think it really comes from the top down: our leaders have a reputation of being incredibly humble, down-to-earth, brilliant, genuine, and amazing.

What advice would you give to students hoping to break into your industry?

​I would recommend checking out SEDS Canada, Space Generation Advisory Council, the Planetary Society, the Women’s Aerospace Network and WeWorkinSpace for non-technical career inspiration and volunteering and research opportunities, on their websites and their LinkedIns. Getting involved with space-related hackathons like ActinSpace can help with networking with space experts and judges/mentors which can lead to insightful conversations on how to gain more experience or grant you access to internship opportunities. I am also happy to connect on LinkedIn for those passionate about the industry and who have any questions about my experiences, journey, or would like to learn more about other aerospace opportunities to get involved in!

How did you find the opportunity, and how did you prepare for the interview?

​​I happened to see a Discord message in the UW Orbital server about student internship postings for the Canadian Space Agency on the CSA website about a month before my co-op term was supposed to start. Then, I immediately applied directly on their website instead of through the WaterlooWorks board, with no networking prior to this as I didn’t know anyone who had worked at the Agency. After getting an invitation to the interview, I prepared for the interview with my friend by reviewing over what I knew about the CSA, making sure to use the STAR method when answering questions, and adding in cool space facts that related to my career journey. For example, in my interview, since I had worked at an optometrist’s office as a summer job, I related that to space by mentioning LASIK eye surgery being a cool space technology application.

​What are your top tips for effective networking?

​For networking, if you are truly passionate about the industry or where you want to go, no matter what that industry is, whether that is accounting, finance, construction or aerospace, I would advise you to show that through adding in some related facts to your personal story. Showing my passion for space comes out naturally and constantly when I talk about space and with my role models. This has helped to be one of the main deciding factors for getting my role in terms of what stood out in my interview, along with my ability and willingness to communicate in French. This continued into my work term after the interview as my team had a francophone boss and my desire to help him feel more comfortable in his native language stood out to my team.