HOUSTON .– 20 Apr 11
Celebrating Prior Service: Veterans of USRP Spring 2011 Class
By: Heather L. Ogletree
Memorial Day is right around the corner, and the Undergraduate Student Research Program (USRP) would like to take some time to recognize the contributions of veterans to USRP and to NASA. Thus far, USRP has supported 21 veterans over the past 3 years, and this spring has been the biggest semester for veterans at USRP to date with 8 spring interns citing prior military service.
Veteran status is one avenue that helps students transition from intern to NASA hire — just this January Charles Nichols was hired at White Sands Test Facility under the VRA (see below). According to the NASA Jobs website, there are two programs at NASA, which facilitate the non-competitive on-boarding of prior service men and women:
1. Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA):
If you are a qualified and *eligible veteran, the VRA authority provides a way for you to be non-competitively appointed to a position at or below GS-11. After two years of successful employment, you are converted to a permanent career or career-conditional appointment.
2. Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) Appointments:
This authority allows *eligible veterans to compete for vacancies that are advertised under Merit Promotion procedures (i.e. limited to current or former Federal civilian employees in competitive service positions) if we are accepting applications from individuals outside of NASA.
* For information on how what constitutes an eligible veteran, check out the NASA Jobs website or the NASA Applicant guide.
Below you will find the profiles of 5 out of the 8 spring interns that were prior service members of the United States Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy. To find out how their military experience has helped them in their current internship and to see why they applied to USRP, simply click on their pictures.
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NAME:
NASA CENTER: UNIVERSITY MAJOR: BRANCH: HIGHEST RANK: POSITION: |
Matthew Smith
JSC East Tennessee State University Geology U.S. Marine Corps O-1: 2nd Lieutenant (Prior Enlisted) Correctional Specialist (Military Police) |
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NAME:
NASA CENTER: UNIVERSITY MAJOR: BRANCH: HIGHEST RANK: POSITION:
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Jeff Harris
Langley Georgia Institute of Technology Industrial Engineering U.S. Marine Corps E-3: Lance Corporal Aviation Information Systems Specialist |
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NAME:
NASA CENTER: UNIVERSITY MAJOR: BRANCH: HIGHEST RANK: POSITION: |
Sean Shriner
JSC Salish Kootenai College Computer Engineering U.S. Air Force E-4: Senior Airman Security Forces/ Armor |
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NAME:
NASA CENTER: UNIVERSITY MAJOR: BRANCH: HIGHEST RANK: POSITION: |
Bradley Walton
Wallops Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Technical Management U.S. Air Force E-4: Senior Airman Aircrew Egress Technician |
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NAME:
NASA CENTER: UNIVERSITY MAJOR: BRANCH: HIGHEST RANK: POSITION: |
Brandon Mousseau
JPL University of Washington Electrical Engineering U.S. Navy E-6: Petty Officer First Class Submarine Nuclear Reactor Operator/Electronics Technician |
