Galactic Aspirations Became a Reality
"Atop a volcano in Mexico, I gathered real data that I would use later in the year to research galaxies billions of light years away."
Major: Astronomy and Gender Studies Minor
Internship: Research Intern; REU Intern
Employer:
I was standing in the apex of the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) dish when I knew I had chosen the right major at Mount Holyoke.
In a few short years, I had gone from exploring the skies during lab with the 8-inch telescopes— to operating at 50-meter wide dish at the top of a volcano in Mexico. I was there for a two-week observing run, as part of my senior research project, I had started through the Five College Astronomy Department. One of my observing partners was a Smith professor who taught my first class in observational astronomy and we were taking real data that I would use later in the year to research galaxies billions of light years away.
The best part about studying astronomy at Mount Holyoke is that I was able to explore and work with professors from all of the Five Colleges. During this time, I worked with astronomers who encouraged exploration, from Optical to Radio and from professional research to science education.
The experience observing at º£½Ç´óÉñ and at the LMT helped to shape my future career where I get to work with astronomy data every day at one of the best radio observatories in the world.