Listen to this audio excerpt from Katie Oriti, Orion European Service Module Integration Office manager:
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Growing up in rural America, Katie Oriti could only dream of working for NASA. Not because she wasn't inspired by the dark, star-filled skies of her hometown Shelby, Ohio, but because it felt out of reach.
"I think NASA was always in the back of my mind because I had an interest in space," said Oriti, manager for the Orion European Service Module Integration Office. "It was something that felt unattainable, and I just didn't think it was in the cards for me."
Oriti originally had her sights set on becoming a doctor. She studied mechanical engineering in college and minored in biomedical engineering, intending to apply to medical school. However, as graduation approached, she shifted course and applied to roles that sparked her curiosity.
That leap led her to NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland as a support service contractor helping to build and maintain hardware for cryogenic testing, a process that exposes materials to extremely low temperatures. A career at NASA, previously a dream, suddenly felt real. Oriti became a civil servant, working as a thermal analyst for Orion, the spacecraft carrying astronauts to the Moon through NASA's Artemis campaign.
