“Do not undersell yourself. Know your self-worth and put yourself out there for every single opportunity because you never know where an opportunity will lead you. Sometimes life has a plan for you that you might not expect at first, but you might really, really appreciate at the end. Go for everything and apply for everything and don't undersell yourself.”
Watch the full interview between Libby Fenstermacher and Nikola Mazzarella on YouTube
TRANSCRIPT
Libby: Hi, everybody. Thanks for joining me today. My name is Libby Fenstermacher, and I'm here today with Nikola, and she's here to tell us a little bit about being a woman and a student in astronomy and astrophysics. So thank you for being here today, Nikola. Do you want to share a little bit about your background?
Nikola: Yeah, so hi, everyone. I'm Nikola Mozzarella. I'm a physics student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, getting a concentration in astrophysics and Earth and planetary exploration technologies. And I'm graduating in the fall, and I'm really excited.
Libby: Awesome. What inspired you to choose a path in astronomy and astrophysics?
Nikola: So I have had a lot of inspiration from my family. My dad got a bachelor's in physics as well as my grandpa worked on the attitude, determination, and control systems with NASA in the 1900s. So they really inspired me to take this path. I'm also named after Nikola Tesla, so I felt like I was just meant to do this. So yeah, it's definitely in my family and my blood and just something I've always loved to learn about.
Libby: What about astronomy excites you?
Nikola: I think that there's so many things in astronomy that are very exciting. I think the most exciting thing is learning about the possibility of extraterrestrial life and the possibility of habitable worlds other than Earth and being able to you know, populate those at some point in the future and explore the universe. So there's just…it's hard to really pinpoint anything that's specifically, you know, it's unending.
Libby: I mean, astronomy is everything. It's endlessly inspiring and endlessly exciting. But what about astronomy and astrophysics challenges you and what have you done to overcome those challenges?
Nikola: So I do want to answer this in two different ways. I think that being a STEM student taking challenging courses is just going to be difficult for everybody in the sense that you need to be able to manage your time in a way that allows you to have all of these different aspects of your social life and your physical health taken care of. And I think that that's extremely important and probably the most challenging thing about being a college student in general. And so I think that that's something that everyone taking challenging courses should be aware of and be able to plan for these extra hours that it might take you to study or get office hours and help. So something that I've done to combat this is to manage my time very efficiently, utilize tools such as Google Calendar and Monday to really schedule out my time and make sure that I'm taking care of myself and my mental health and doing things that I like, to make sure that I'm motivated and healthy and do my best. And then the second thing is being a woman in any STEM course can be very difficult because you find yourself in classes, maybe you're one of only two women in the class, and that can be extremely challenging and give you kind of a sense of imposter syndrome or thinking, oh, I don't fit in with everybody else. And I think that the idea of putting yourself into a box thinking you don't fit in with everybody else can hold you back. Something that I've done to combat this is just erase the idea that I don't fit in and just reach out right off the bat and start making friends in class. And you'll realize that by putting yourself out there, no one actually thinks that of you. And you're not an imposter and you are smart enough to be there.
Libby: Awesome. That's really, really great advice. What do you think is a common misperception about astronomers and astronomy and astrophysics um and the educational path in general?
Nikola: I think that I, when I pictured an astronomer or an astrophysicist, I do tend to picture kind of someone that's more reserved, maybe someone that's, I don't know, in a sense, nerdy, someone that keeps to themselves and doesn't really care, kind of has their head in the clouds and doesn't really care about maybe they don't care about world issues or topics and that is just wrong altogether. I mean, I'm an aspiring astrophysicist myself and I am very, very involved in world issues and keep up to date on current events and many of my mentors and professors are as well. They care a lot about indigenous rights. And minorities getting educational opportunities. And I just think that thinking that astronomers are just, you know, only looking up is wrong and a misconception. And yeah, that's just not true.
Libby: So what are you, what are you currently working on right now?
Nikola: So right now I'm interning with NASA Headquarters Office of Communication and I'm working on audience profiles. I'm making a tool on SharePoint that allows communicators to learn more about their target audience and use that tool to engage with them better. On top of that, I'm the chief scientist for the VIA-SEES Mission. It's a small satellite mission out of the University of Hawaii in Manoa. And we're working on-- we have two payloads. So one is a UV VIS spectrometer, and that is commercial off-the-shelf. Another one is our small particle detector. And we have designed that from the ground up and it's just a labor of love for us. And that is a very, very personal, passionate project of mine.
Libby: I'm so excited for you on that one. I can't wait to see what comes from that. Are you looking to publish any papers, or are you involved in the design-build?
Nikola: So we have published believe, four or five papers by now. We have presented our work at multiple conferences, including the small satellite conference in Logan, Utah, which brings together a whole bunch of industry professionals, and they have an opportunity for students to present their work. And so we presented there, which was a great honor and so much fun. And, my team and I presented at the Space Grant Consortium National Conference, and we got to present our work there, and that was super fun. And I believe that we have, I believe there are four other published papers other than that from my team, but those are the two that I have been involved in.
Libby: Awesome, if someone wants to, research those papers or look them up. Is there a way they can do that?
Nikola: Yeah, absolutely. So right now I know that if you just typed in variability in the atmosphere solar energetic events study or VIA-SEES small satellite conference 2023, you will see our paper. It's the first thing that pops up, and you'll see my name, Nikola Mazzarella, as one of the authors, and you can find it there. You can also find it at the Hawaii Space Grant Consortium. We have many published papers on their website as well. So you can check those out there.
Libby: Neat. So that's what you're doing now, but what are your near future plans?
Nikola: So this fall, I hope to continue this internship with NASA Headquarters Office of Communications, as well as the VIASEAS project. We are launching late 2025, so it is still in the fabrication phase. I will be continuing to work on that. And then after I graduate in fall, I hope to get a NASA Pathways internship and I'll be applying to many different opportunities because I just…I love NASA. So any any opportunity to be involved, I'm very interested in.
Libby: Yeah, absolutely. Same here. I love, love being a part of the NASA universe and I am interning this fall as well and I think I have 18 different applications in there for for spring. So mentors, if you're looking for somebody, hit me up.
Nikola: Exactly.
Libby: What are your future long-term aspirations? What do you see yourself having accomplished by the time you're 80?
Nikola: Okay, this, this hits home because I have always, always, always had a dream of making the world a better place. And I think that the best way to do that, and it's not even an I think, I know the best way toto do that is to help develop the aerospace industry and to get humans exploring our universe and learning about different technologies that can allow us to be a sustainable, healthy society. And I know that there's going to be a lot of world conflicts that could be solved by gaining knowledge of the universe and just developing a greater understanding for everything altogether. And I plan to be a major key part of that. I hope to be, and I won't stop until I do become someone that can that can lead that idea.
Libby: So I'm right there with you. I couldn't agree more. I definitely see the path to sustainability in the stars.
Nikola: Yes, I love that. That should be on a sticker.
Libby: I'll have to make it.
Nikola: Yes, I love that. Yes.
Libby: What advice would you give to someone who wants to follow a trajectory similar to yours?
Nikola: Okay, this goes back to the challenges. I think that managing your time issuper, super important for your success. So I would advise someone to start adopting whatever tools that they want to utilize to manage their time. Like I said, I use Google Calendar. It's free, it's easy. That's like just my tool of choice, but there's so many tools out there that can help you organize your time. And it seems kind of like something you wouldn't expect to be the most important thing, but it really is. And I think that you'll come to realize that everything is not necessarily about how hard you work, but how you balance your life and how you can make sure that you're healthy as well as a hard worker. And you know it does take a little extra work to plan things out, but in the end, it's going to help you. So, that's one of the major big advice I give to you. Also, do not undersell yourself. Know your self-worth and put yourself out there for every single opportunity because you never know where an opportunity will lead you. Sometimes life has a plan for you that you might not expect at first, but you might really, really appreciate at the end. Go for everything and apply for everything and don't undersell yourself.
Libby: Yes, excellent advice. Did you receive any advice and mentorship yourself? And if so, can you share any of the advice you received?
Nikola: I feel like my mentor is like taking over my body and saying this stuff as I say it. Because yes…I have a really, really great mentor, Dr. Engler at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and he has encouraged me to really, really put myself out there for opportunities. I was like, I don't know, like, I don't think I'm qualified. And he was like, yes, you you have to apply. You gotta find out. And so I think that that's absolutely one of my favorite things is I've been practicing this thing that I call rejection therapy. And so I've just been applying to everything. And the more rejections I get, it doesn't feel like a failure. It feels like kind of a step in the right direction to where I should be. And I think that's super healthy.
Libby: I love that so much. Yeah. Because you learn from every mistake that you make and then you know, you know, OK, well that didn't work this time. What can I tweak? What can I work out to make it work for this next time? I think that's really, really solid advice.
Nikola: And it's totally like acceptance of where where life is putting you. Like just make the most out of it. So I totally…I love his mentorship and everything he has to say. And I would not be at the internship I'm at today if it were not for him, you know, giving me that base of confidence.
Libby: And we all need that. So yeah, great job, mentor.
Nikola: Yes.
Libby: What, if any, changes would you like to see for women in astronomy?
Nikola: Yes. Oh, so many. There's so many things that I would like to see differently, happen differently. I have had many friends come to me with their stories and experiences that I have shared as well about being a woman in astronomy and even looking the way that we look like we are not maybe what you would perceive as what you would imagine as someone who is an astronomer or an astrophysicist, and sometimes that does leak into, you know, our experiences and our opportunities. And I have actually had a faculty member who has had some discrimination for being a woman and has had things not published or given the credit that she deserves. And I just think that that's absolutely wrong. And of course, I would love to see women get recognition for what they do and for us to feel like we don't have to fight. We shouldn't have to fight for our for our feeling comfortable in our work for our position. We should not have to fight for that. That should be already as a system, not be accepted. And I would love to see that change where we're not having to be fighting certain, you know, certain lawsuits and certain other, you know, systemic issues. We should already be at a position where we are heard and credited for our work. So that's definitely the biggest change I'd like to see.
Libby: Yeah, I know that has been a notoriously large problem within the astronomical community and the astrophysics community is women being devalued and discredited from their published work. Not getting that top credit…maybe they're third line down you know when maybe it's their idea and work in the first place. So I think that’s very solid hopes for the future and hopefully it won't be hopes soon enough.
Nikola: It's even even more than that. Like, unfortunately, I've heard cases where there is things such as a sexual assault that are not addressed appropriately, and that's not OK. And I think that that's a huge, huge issue. I've experienced it myself. I've experienced that. And really, I've had some, I actually had a good outlet for it. And a lot of faculty reached out to me and gave me options about what I could do about that. But it still sucks that that is something that seems normal for the person that did it to me for them to think that that's okay. Like that's kind of seems like a systemic problem. And I would love to see that change. This is not just my story. This is, like I said, a lot of other peers that I have had have come out with the exact same experience. And that's just awful.
Libby: Yeah, it's a a known issue. And if anybody has or is experiencing this issue themselves, I would obviously encourage them to talk to the appropriate higher ups, but also go to the Committee for the Status of Women in Astronomy's resource page. Where there are a ton of resources on harassment and bias and stereotypes, all of that. So you can have some literature to back-to-back up. Thank you for sharing that all with me today. Gonna take a little change.
Nikola: Yeah, it won't change until you until we speak up.
Libby: So absolutely. Well, now we're gonna get really unserious and talk about what your favorite movie is.
Nikola: Okay. It is Fight Club. I love Fight Club. It's been my favorite movie forever.
Libby: But there is no Fight Club, I thought.
Nikola: Yeah. Don't know what you're talking about.
Libby: How fun. I mean, I was, I think in high school when that movie came out, everybody, all the little boys would just…Yeah, there is no fight club. Is there anything else you'd like to share today? This has been a wonderful interview. Thank you for being here again.
Nikola: Of course. I just can't stress enough how much you need to believe in yourself and how much you should put yourself out there. How much you should give yourself credit for everything that you do. And I'm talking about any project you worked on. If it's in a class, that does not mean that it's not relevant for your resume or for your LinkedIn or any other platform that you want to put that on. I think you need to give yourself that credit cause you did that work no matter how you went about doing that work. Put that, put that on your resume, put that, give yourself that credit umm and don't be afraid to to apply to things. And you wanna try rejection therapy, it's working well for me.
Libby: I love that so much.
Nikola: Also, yes, like I said again, I'm gonna say it again because this is important, but do your best to manage your time and take care of your mental health. Because I have seen so many of my friends just really, really get to a low point because they were working a little too hard and did not give themselves that, whatever they needed physically or spiritually or anything. So really, really take care of your mental health and and physical health, and that's the most important thing that you can do, and I hope you guys have really amazing opportunities in the future and excited to see what these, what changes will bring about for women in astrophysics and astronomy.
Libby: Yeah, and so being in Hawaii, I'm sure one of your relaxation nodes is surfing.
Nikola: Surfing, yes, yes, yes that is my favorite thing to do. I am a huge surfer, so. That 100% takes care of me spiritually, mentally and physically.
Libby: So there we go. The trifecta. I'm gonna have to get myself on a board.
Nikola: Yeah, totally. Come out here.
Libby: Well, thanks so much again for being here. This has been wonderful. And I can't wait to share your story.
Nikola: Yeah. Thank you so much.
Libby: Bye.
Nikola: Bye.
Photos courtesy of Nicola Mazzarella and used with permission.
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