1 00:00:00,010 --> 00:00:04,030 2 00:00:04,030 --> 00:00:08,090 My name is Judy Bruner, I work here 3 00:00:08,090 --> 00:00:12,130 at NASA Goddard and I'm the Director of Safety and Mission Assurance 4 00:00:12,130 --> 00:00:16,150 on center. 5 00:00:16,150 --> 00:00:20,160 (music) 6 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:24,170 That means that I have the organization 7 00:00:24,170 --> 00:00:28,230 that's responsible for overall safety of all 8 00:00:28,230 --> 00:00:32,290 employees at all of our sites, as well as 9 00:00:32,290 --> 00:00:36,320 mission assurance for all of our flight missions, so we 10 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:40,380 insure that the mission we are developing 11 00:00:40,380 --> 00:00:44,460 will be able to do what it's designed to 12 00:00:44,460 --> 00:00:48,490 do. So we provide a level of independence 13 00:00:48,490 --> 00:00:52,530 and over site and through the mission live cycle 14 00:00:52,530 --> 00:00:56,610 at various stages, observing the steps that are being 15 00:00:56,610 --> 00:01:00,640 taken to implement our flight missions. And again 16 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,670 the goal is mission success. 17 00:01:04,670 --> 00:01:08,690 I can remember driving 18 00:01:08,690 --> 00:01:12,720 through the gate and I just could not stop smiling. 19 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:16,770 I was actually here, I was actually working for NASA. 20 00:01:16,770 --> 00:01:20,790 It was awesome. 21 00:01:20,790 --> 00:01:24,820 I was working on Hubble Space Telescope. 22 00:01:24,820 --> 00:01:28,890 So, when I left active duty and 23 00:01:28,890 --> 00:01:32,900 came to NASA as a contractor, it was the first time 24 00:01:32,900 --> 00:01:36,940 in ten years that I actually got to use my computer science degree. 25 00:01:36,940 --> 00:01:40,990 So, my initial job was to design 26 00:01:40,990 --> 00:01:45,010 and develop the software, the ground system 27 00:01:45,010 --> 00:01:49,030 for Hubble Space Telescope. So, I wrote the code 28 00:01:49,030 --> 00:01:53,080 that they used in the control the center, that actually command 29 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:57,090 the Hubble, for the first few years. I tested 30 00:01:57,090 --> 00:02:01,120 every single line of that code myself. 31 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:05,170 I was putting myself 32 00:02:05,170 --> 00:02:09,220 through college, and at the end of my junior year I was trying 33 00:02:09,220 --> 00:02:13,260 to figure out how I was going to pay for my senior year, and an Army 34 00:02:13,260 --> 00:02:17,300 recruiter came to the dorm and was telling us about 35 00:02:17,300 --> 00:02:21,310 a program in the Army. If you enlisted then they would pay 36 00:02:21,310 --> 00:02:25,390 for senior year. So, that certainly got my attention, I thought 37 00:02:25,390 --> 00:02:29,440 that was appealing and went to talk to some of the other 38 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:33,460 services. I was very intrigued by what the Navy recruiter 39 00:02:33,460 --> 00:02:37,480 had to say and so, I enlisted in the Navy at the end of 40 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:41,580 my junior year in college. In the fall completed my senior 41 00:02:41,580 --> 00:02:45,600 year and graduation day I got my 42 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:49,670 degree in computer science in the morning and 43 00:02:49,670 --> 00:02:53,750 I was commissioned as an ensign in the United States 44 00:02:53,750 --> 00:02:57,770 Navy in the afternoon. 45 00:02:57,770 --> 00:03:01,810 The most important lesson that I think 46 00:03:01,810 --> 00:03:05,830 I've learned in my life is to 47 00:03:05,830 --> 00:03:09,870 take advantage of every opportunity that you have and 48 00:03:09,870 --> 00:03:13,920 when a door opens take advantage 49 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:17,960 of that as well. My career has not 50 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,990 necessarily gone the way I anticipated, because 51 00:03:21,990 --> 00:03:26,030 along the way opportunities presented themselves 52 00:03:26,030 --> 00:03:30,050 that I never anticipated. But I was in the right place 53 00:03:30,050 --> 00:03:34,060 at the right time and took advantage of those 54 00:03:34,060 --> 00:03:38,120 and it all worked together to help me move forward 55 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:42,140 and do the things that ultimately I wanted to do. 56 00:03:42,140 --> 00:03:46,150 My advice 57 00:03:46,150 --> 00:03:50,240 to women would go back to 58 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:54,260 the principal that's guided me through my career 59 00:03:54,260 --> 00:03:58,300 and that is just be 60 00:03:58,300 --> 00:04:02,350 open to opportunities. Even if it 61 00:04:02,350 --> 00:04:06,400 isn't something you think you can do or you've ever 62 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:10,450 do or thought you would want to do. If an opportunity presents 63 00:04:10,450 --> 00:04:14,520 itself take advantage of it and be aware, because 64 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:18,540 sometimes doors open that are unexpected 65 00:04:18,540 --> 00:04:22,570 and take advantage of that. It's 66 00:04:22,570 --> 00:04:26,640 an opportunity to learn to figure out 67 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,670 what your own capabilities are and in some 68 00:04:30,670 --> 00:04:34,710 cases it may lead you down a totally different path than you 69 00:04:34,710 --> 00:04:38,770 thought you were on initially, but that's ok 70 00:04:38,770 --> 00:04:42,790 and again the main thing is 71 00:04:42,790 --> 00:04:46,850 don't be locked in, always be ready 72 00:04:46,850 --> 00:04:50,920 to make a course correction. If you're given that 73 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:54,930 opportunity. 74 00:04:54,930 --> 00:04:59,000 (music) 75 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:03,010 (music) 76 00:05:03,010 --> 00:05:05,786 end