Russ College graduate Drake Purdum pursues dreams to work at NASA

“I applied for an internship with NASA, and I wasn’t expecting to get it. I asked Dr. Chris Bartone if he could put me in contact with someone there and he did. Next thing I knew, I got a call from NASA to be an intern,” said Drake Purdum. 

As a child, Purdum, BSEE ’22, dreamed of one day going to space every time he looked up at the night sky. He went to a small school outside of Chillicothe, Ohio and graduated in a class of 82 students. From his perspective, his dreams of becoming an astronaut didn’t seem possible. 

“Most people who have an interest in technology and space of course want to work for NASA,” said Purdum.

After job shadowing his uncle, Purdum decided to pursue electrical engineering, a discipline that immediately captured his interest after he experimented with coding and circuit boards with his uncle. Additionally, he knew that electrical engineering was a common path for NASA employees. His dream of one day going to space was still his ultimate goal and working at NASA was the first step to becoming an astronaut.

“Electrical engineering has a stereotype of being difficult because it is a mix of so many different sub-disciplines. That is great though because you learn something new every day,” said Purdum.

Purdum’s academic journey was not without its challenges. He was a high-achieving student who studied intensively to earn a top grade in each class. He met with his professors when he was struggling in class and built relationships with key faculty members who served as his mentors throughout his college journey, including professors Chris Bartone, Wojciech Jadwisienczak and Frank Van Graas. 

One semester, Purdum took a notoriously challenging electronics course with Jadwisienczak, but he embraced the challenge and continued to work hard. By the semester’s end, Jadwisienczak offered him a position to work in his lab fixing circuit boards. Purdum embraced this experience as an opportunity to develop his skills in hands-on learning. 

As he excelled as a student, both in the classroom and in his lab role, Purdum returned to the idea of one day working at NASA. He thought it was a long shot, but he applied to be an intern. While he was waiting to hear back about his application, he thought to ask his professor and mentor, Bartone, if he could help Purdum make connections at NASA. Bartone connected Purdum with one of his colleagues and next thing Purdum knew, his resume was getting passed around NASA.

He was offered a Space Communications and Navigation internship at NASA’s Glenn Research Center a few weeks later, which began Purdum’s journey with NASA. When Purdum completed his first internship, he applied again for the following year. The day he applied, NASA reached out immediately to invite him back.

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“I did everything I could to impress as many people as possible so I could stay with NASA. I tried to do more than what they asked to show them I was embracing the experience,” said Purdum. 

Purdum quickly learned that interning with NASA meant he received real responsibilities. He was assigned tasks from the moment he started and found himself in meetings in which the lingo was foreign to him. In his first few weeks, he spent his spare time researching unknown terminology to be sure he was ready for the next challenge assigned to him. 

“It all felt too good to be real. Everyone there was equally as excited for you to be there as you were,” said Purdum. 

After completing his second internship, Purdum was offered a job as an Electronics Engineer with NASA. The project that he started as an intern, Lunar LTE Studies, is the project he continues working on now as a full-time employee. His team is testing 4G and 5G cellular networking for the lunar surface to help enable astronaut and robotic communications required for NASA’s upcoming return missions to the Moon, Artemis.

“First, we build a model using a program called Systems Tool Kit to run a simulation. When that is accurate, we can start doing emulations on the lunar surface. This is all necessary to build cellular architecture on the Moon,” said Purdum.

As a NASA employee working to build communications infrastructure on the Moon, Purdum has discovered that the sky really is the limit for his dreams. 

To learn how to apply to be a NASA intern, visit intern.nasa.gov.