Overseas experience impactful for International Space Weather Camp intern

For newly graduated physics and math student Kaitlyn Hemauer, an internship in the International Space Weather Camp (ISWC) helped propel her ahead in her job search and taught her valuable skills.
Sponsored annually by the Future Technologies & enabling Plasma Processes (FTPP) grant, ISWC is an opportunity for students from the United States and internationally to learn about space physics in the context of understanding the influence of the sun on space and the upper atmosphere of the Earth, and its related impact on the technological systems and needs of modern society.
Applications for the June 27 to July 25, 2025, ISWC are being accepted now.
FTPP is a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that supports a collaboration of nine statewide universities and a research organization dedicated to plasma research, commercialization and the establishment of a plasma workforce in Alabama. The project is managed by The University of Alabama in Huntsville.
From Salisbury, Md., Hemauer earned her bachelor’s degrees at the University of Alabama, where she continues to work on a master’s in business administration that she plans to complete in May 2025. Last summer, she interned with the U.S. Department of Defense at Redstone Arsenal. She’s currently in the market for her first position.
international impact
“FTPP had a major impact on my life. Having an overseas experience is really important when looking for a job. Employers always want to hear more about my experience in South Africa,” she says. “The involvement with FTPP just helps push my application above others, in my opinion.”
Her ISWC experiences remain a key part of her conversations with people, and Hemauer says she thinks about her memories with the program all the time.
“If I had not done this program, I would have been much more anxious about traveling abroad, and would not have realized that I had such a strong interest in solar physics research that I hope to continue,” she says. “To this day, I get the solar weather update every three hours sent to my email because of the research I did in South Africa.”
The research didn’t stop with the end of her ISWC internship, either.
“I also continued to do research with my mentor in South Africa after leaving, and that has continued to be an awesome connection,” Hemauer says. “I am still connected with most of the people I met through FTPP. They were all so intelligent and just incredible people. I became really good friends with one of the South Africans, and am going to see one of them this upcoming summer!”
ISWC awakened her to all the opportunities a career in a science, technology, engineering and mathematics field can provide. “It made me realize how much potential funding is available in STEM fields and how often people who have similar interests to me can be connected across countries,” she says.
“Seeing so many people work together across countries was incredible,” Hemauer says. “I want to work in physics, and having this internship experience has been a key part of my resume to potential employers.”