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DOE Pulse
  • Number 296  |
  • September 28, 2009

Sandia’s Melissa Sisneros becomes an engineer and role model

Melissa Sisneros

Melissa Sisneros

Melissa Sisneros says she is a member of  the technical staff at DOE's Sandia National Laboratories today because of her 16-year-old daughter, Samantha. In her desire to be a positive role model for her, Melissa earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in computer information systems after joining Sandia as a secretary 19 years ago.

Growing up on a farm in a remote valley near Santa Rosa, N.M., a higher education initially was not in Sisneros’ future. Her father was a rancher, welder, and well driller. Her mother was a homemaker and cleaned motel rooms. Their house had a dirt floor. Water came from a cistern, and lanterns provided light at night.

Sisneros came to work at Sandia in 1990 as an office administrative assistant. She moved up, becoming a director’s secretary, a management assistant, and a technologist.  About seven years after joining Sandia, she decided to go to college.

Her manager allowed her to attend school full time as well as work full time.

As a single mother with no nearby relatives, Sisneros relied on daycare for her then 5-year-old daughter.

“It was hard leaving Samantha for so many hours during the day,” she said, “but I was doing this for us to have a better life.”

Today Sisneros is the project leader of both the Simulation Terrain Team and the Technical Operations Team. The work involves combining data from different sources and “using varied Geographic Information Systems and 3-D modeling tools into terrain models. These terrains consist of elevation, imagery, and 3-D models with textures,” she said.
 
Sisneros is also an active volunteer. She has worked with the MANOS Science & Engineering Program, a Sandia-sponsored effort designed to introduce math, science, and engineering to mid-school students and spark their interest in pursuing careers in those fields. She volunteers at the National Hispanic Cultural Center and is a Spanish translator for the Southwest chapter of Healing the Children.She is close with her daughter, who is also an active volunteer.

“Anything is possible when you have the determination to reach your goals and dreams,” said Sisneros. “I was blessed to have a positive support group and Sandia National Laboratories on my side.”

Submitted by DOE's Sandia National Laboratories