Saniya Leslie, 2025 AAS Team-Up Together Intern

Biography

SPS Chapter: Georgia State University
Hi! My name is Saniya, I’m currently at senior at Georgia State University studying general physics. My love for physics started in my senior year of high school, after taking my first physics and astronomy course. I knew then that that was the only thing I wanted to pursue. After graduation, I plan on applying for a master’s degree in renewable energy engineering. In my free time, I like biking, watching anime, and writing short stories. I am looking forward to being an SPS intern this year!

Internship

Host: American Astronomical Society TEAM UP Together Intern

Internship Blog

Week 1

I had a wonderful first week working as a SPS intern! The ride from Atlanta to DC went smoothly. My dad was a trooper and drove the entire nine hours! (I fell asleep). Arriving to the dorms and unpacking all my things went well, but my dad is very particular about organizing things. I got super irritated, but that irritation quickly evaporated when I realized he had to leave. When he left, I cleaned my dorm room and got situated. I was alone for a couple of hours before my roommate Sunny arrived. She was very nice! We talked for a while and got to know each other a little bit. The next day- Memorial Day, was very rough and stressful. All the clothes I bought from Atlanta needed to be dry cleaned. I walked to the nearest cleaners and found out they were closed. In Atlanta no one cares about Memorial Day, so everything is open. I was very distressed and did not know what to do. I just went back to my dorm and tried to wash them here. I was very annoyed at the fact that I had to pay to do the laundry. I had three different loads of clothes that needed washing, and I was even more upset when I found out I also had to pay to dry them as well, but I digress. Once the clothes washed and dried, I made sure they were okay. It made me realize that dry cleaning is literally pointless because everything came out fine. The next day was orientation. In the morning, all the interns met in the lobby. We all briefly introduced ourselves and headed to the office. Orientation is kind of a blur, and I do not remember much, but I do remember meeting my mentor! We had a great conversation about how my first day working would be like, and what my instructions were for the first week. The conversation was long, and at that point, everyone left, and I had no idea how to use the metro. My mentor, Dr. Rice, told me how to use the metro and helped me get back to my dorm. I have no problem using it now! For my first day of work, I had to meet with the HR/DEI director of AAS around 8:30 AM. I got to know more about her, and her responsibilities. My mentor and Ms. Martinez showed me around the office and introduced me to all their coworkers and the CEO of AAS. I had lunch with everyone around noon and briefly introduced myself again. For the rest of the day, I was given a report to read based on the work I’ll be doing this summer. It was an interesting read, and I am excited to continue learning more about TEAM UP! For my second full day of work, I met with the project manager for TEAM UP, Arlene Knowles. I was familiar with her face due to me going to the TEAM-UP Together conference last October. I had lunch with her and my mentor at an Italian restaurant. My mentor and I had rigatoni, and it was delicious! A random thing that happened this week- Ms. Martinez bought me an Owala water bottle and that made me really happy! I also had another lunch with my mentors and my coworkers, and I enjoyed my time with them. The next day I had a lengthy conversation with the CEO of AAS, and he was a nice guy! I learned a lot about his life and his responsibilities as CEO of the company. To wrap up the week, all the interns went out to dinner at TONIC. We had a fun time singing karaoke despite getting caught in the rainstorm. This weekend was peaceful. I relaxed and slept well to recuperate from waking up early every day this week! I look forward to the weeks to come!

Week 3

This week I went to the AAS conference in Alaska! I spent most of my first day walking around the exhibitor’s hall talking to undergraduate students. I asked a lot of questions about their college experience and got to know a few people pretty well. Everyone was super nice and easy to talk to. My mentor introduced me to his colleauges. I also met my friend Rosalie. We met at a conference in October, and it was really nice to see her. I got so carried away with talking to people that I completely forgot about the free dinner. I went back to my hotel very hungry and sad.
Tuesday was pretty much the same. I talked to more students and more professionals. Everyone I talked to had interesting stories, and it was great to hear them.
Wednesday was my birthday. I headed to the conference early in the morning. I had breakfast with my mentor and chatted with him for a while. He introduced me to his PhD advisor, and we ended up talking for a long time. After that, I went to an undergraduate panel to listen in and then had lunch with a professor I’d just met, who taught at my alma mater. Later I met with my cousins who live in Alaska, and they took me out to see the mountains and the nature trails. It was really beautiful!
They dropped me back off at the hotel and then Dr. Rice took me out to dinner for my birthday. We had a great time. After dinner, we walked back to the hotel and then I met Rosalie again. We grabbed drinks and caught up some more --- honestly, it was the perfect way to end the day.
We walked back to the hotel together and parted ways. I had to pack for my flight. It was for 6:30 AM. I didn’t get back to DC until 10PM. I spent the entire next day sleeping in and just relaxing.

Week 4
Week four went pretty smoothly! The AAS office was closed on Monday, so I decided to take a rest day. On Tuesday, I went back to work, and I was excited to see my mentor again. This week I focused on reviewing the notes I took during the AAS conference. My mentor arranged an online meeting for me, him, and Jaclyn. Jaclyn is one of the evaluators of the company WestEd. She will be evaluating the TEAM-UP together initiative and she wants me to be a part of the evaluation team. I will be in charge of collecting feedback from TEAM-UP together scholars. To do this, I first must do training for “human subjects” once I complete my training, I will contact scholars and ask them questions about their experience with the TEAM-UP together program.
My mentor also treated me to coffee this week from a place called The Coffee Bar! I got an iced vanilla latte, and it was great! The office was pretty empty this week. Most of my coworkers took the week off due to hard work done at the conference. It was a quiet and nice work week. On Friday, Naomi, Rosie and I went to Claire’s to get their ears pierced. I had a good time with them. Today (June 22^nd) all the interns celebrated James’s birthday. It was great!

Week 5
This week I attended the Physics and Astronomy FTI conference! I was invited by my mentor, Dr. Rice! It was an interesting experience. I watched astronomy professors hold an interactive workshop with other professors on how to improve their teaching. I felt that the advice given to them was great! It showcased a different approach to teaching that I felt like other professors could benefit from. It was held at the ACP Maryland office; it was my first time there. It is extremely different from the ACP-DC office, I think I like the DC office more!
The best thing about conferences in general is that they are excellent opportunities to meet new people. I met Dr. Edward Prather from the University of Arizona. He was a great guy, and I hope that I will be able to connect with him in the future!
On Saturday, I went to the symphony with Kalen, Naomi, and James. I surprisingly had a better time than I thought I would! On Sunday, I went with Naomi and Rosie to Pitchers and line danced, I had a great time!

Week 6
This week was great! I don’t remember much of my work week, but I do remember sending hundreds of emails and texts to TEAM-UP Together scholars. Next week I have to meet with one of my mentors, and one of my goals this week was to make sure as many people take the TUT survey in regard to how TUT has helped them in the undergraduate career. The outcome has been bleak, given that most people are extremely lazy and don’t want to put for the effort. Next week I will try to reach out again and hopefully get the response rate up.
On Thursday I spoke to one of my coworkers, Shawn. I avoided her for a while but she was super nice! I asked her about her job and apparently she is an accountant, which I found interesting. We talked for about an hour or two and she gave me great advice on environmental engineering, which is what I want to do.
On the Fourth of July I went to the national mall and watched the fireworks! They were kinda lame, and getting back to the dorm on the metro was awful. The next day I went out with Sunny, James and JJ to get Korean barbecue and had a really good time! I definitely want to do it again sometime! This Sunday I went to the gym with James and Riley, and had a great time!