Conversations with Goddard: Dr. Michelle Thaller

In this edition of #ConversationsWithGoddard, we're joined by communicator and scientist Dr. Michelle Thaller.

Michelle has found a way to combine her interests and experiences in science and arts into a job that she loves, and encourages others to do so as well.

“Trust your own curiosity. I was told over and over again that I did not have the right kind of personality to be a scientist ... I learned that just because something is hard at first does not mean that you do not belong. It all comes back to trusting your curiosity to guide your path, trusting what interests you most and going for what you love to do.”

Learn more about Michelle and her work: https://go.nasa.gov/3ByK6Vq

Read (and watch!) more Conversations with Goddard: https://go.nasa.gov/3Bw4QND

Music Provided by Universal Production Music: Success Stories, Magnum Opus[ASCAP]

Video Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Meghan AmRhein (NASA Interns): Producer

Video Description:
0:00 Blue box slides down to show text “Conversations With Goddard” against black background.
0:02 Blue line slides down to show text “Dr. Michelle Thaller.”
0:04 Dr. Michelle Thaller in a floral dress stands in front of a beige wall.
0:10 Footage of Michelle speaking on a TV set with screens behind her. She wears a gray blazer.
0:12 Old footage of Michelle in a maroon sweater, talking to the camera.
0:14 Newer footage of Michelle walking and talking on a TV set. Behind her, screens say “James Webb Space Telescope.” She walks in front of a scale model of the telescope.
0:18 Back to Michelle in front of the wall.
0:21 Video pans across the Hubble extreme deep field image. Thousands of stars make dots like glitter. Some are larger and brighter with diffraction spikes.
0:25 Back to Michelle.
0:31 Photo of Michelle speaking on stage. It slowly zooms in on her.
0:33 Another still image that slowly zooms in. Michelle gestures with both hands to a graphic behind her showing images of the Sun.
0:35 Still image of Michelle sitting in a chair talking to a camera slightly off screen. It zooms in on her.
0:38 Back to Michelle. She stands in front of posters attached to a whiteboard with magnets.
0:46 A video of four scientists in an office. One sits at a desk and points across the room.
0:48 A man is outside in a rocky area, wearing a black hat, using a pocket knife to cut through a wire.
0:49 A woman in a bright pink shirt points to something on a board in front of her, and talks to someone off screen about it, smiling.
0:52 Back to Michelle in front of the beige wall.
0:55 A red box appears on a black screen and reads “Learn more: https://go.nasa.gov/3Mv14JJ.”