When Jai Gershmel graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in kinesiology and a minor in sports medicine, she thought she had a fairly clear sense of where her future was headed.

Like many students in the field, she considered careers in physical therapy or athletic training and spent time completing internships, observations, and shadowing experiences. But as graduation approached, uncertainty began to settle in.

"I wasn't 100 percent sure," Gershmel said. "I didn't want to throw myself into two or three more years of school if I didn't fully know that was the direction I wanted to go."

Rather than immediately committing to more graduate school, she returned home to the Houston area and began searching for direction. During that time, she came across information about the Spaceflight Human Optimization and Performance Summit (SHOP) and decided to attend.

At the time, she had little idea how much that decision would shape what came next.

Through conversations with faculty, researchers, and industry professionals, Gershmel was introduced to a side of exercise and health science she had not fully considered before. A later visit to the University of Houston-Clear Lake's (UHCL) Health and Human Performance Institute (HHPI) deepened that interest even further.

"The labs were really impressive," she said. "I didn't do any kind of research in my undergrad, so seeing all those opportunities and hearing about the work being done here was really exciting."

More importantly, the experience helped her connect interests that previously felt separate. Spaceflight, human performance, healthcare, and research no longer seemed like disconnected possibilities. At UHCL, they existed together in the same environment.

"I realized it was a good way to connect both sides of me that I was interested in doing," she said.

Now pursuing a Master of Science in Exercise and Health Sciences at UHCL, Gershmel works as a graduate assistant supporting research related to human performance and spaceflight operations through HHPI.

Much of her current work involves helping prepare for NASA-related studies involving the Orion Flywheel, a countermeasure exercise device connected to astronaut training and conditioning. The work ranges from research coordination and preparation to helping ensure studies and testing processes run smoothly as projects move closer to implementation.

For Gershmel, one of the most eye-opening parts of the experience has been the proximity UHCL provides to both research and industry. Through HHPI and SHOP, students are exposed to astronauts, scientists, and professionals actively working in the future of human spaceflight.

Last year's conference was also her first real introduction to professional networking.

"That was a big learning curve," she said. "Trying to meet as many people as possible and figure out what networking meant."

What surprised her most, however, was not the prestige of the speakers or the scale of the event, but the shared sense of purpose among the people in the room.

"Everybody is working toward the same goal," she said. "It's cool to see that it's not really about people being high and mighty. Everyone is trying to contribute in their own way."

That exposure has changed more than her academic direction. It has also changed her confidence.

While Gershmel still describes herself primarily as a student, she says the experiences she has gained over the past year have helped her feel more prepared to step into professional environments and contribute to larger conversations surrounding space exploration and human performance research.

That became especially real during the recent Artemis II mission, when Gershmel watched video of astronaut Victor Glover training on the same flywheel technology connected to research she is now helping support.

"I'm directly seeing that impact," she said.

For Gershmel, experiences like those available through UHCL and HHPI are difficult to fully understand until students see them firsthand. That is why she encourages prospective students to ask questions, visit the labs, and talk directly with faculty and current students.

"Come look at the facilities. See what kind of research we're doing," she said. "Definitely talk to other students."

Reflecting on her experience so far, Gershmel describes her path to UHCL as unexpected, but ultimately transformative.

"It's been unexpected," she said. "Not necessarily what I expected when I first started, but I've grown a lot, and I'm really thankful for the experience so far."