Daniela Lucas UCSD PhD student decision to reject NASA internship rattles the internet as bioengineering student at UC San Diego protests Trump administration.
A California PhD student has gone viral after sharing she had declined a ‘dream’ internship with NASA, in which the 26 year old bioengineering student at UC San Diego (UCSD) pinned on the ‘current administration.’
Daniela Lucas, recently uploaded a TikTok video showing her dramatically selecting ‘Decline Offer’ for an internship in NASA’s Human Health and Performance program.
‘No one tells you how hard it is to reject an offer from your dream internship at NASA because of the current administration,’ Lucas, 26, wrote over the video, that has since been making rounds on the internet.
A young liberal woman turns down a NASA internship “because of the current administration” pic.twitter.com/aSZzhzwk1S
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) April 23, 2025
UCSD Phd student placing virtue over NASA internship
Of note, Lucas soon after blocked access to her TikTok account, leading to her 19 second video post being re-shared on other forums and commentators piling on.
‘I worked years to receive this letter, just to have to decline,’ she added, including a crying face and devil emoji.
Lucas, according to her UCSD bio, grew up in Venezuela and immigrated with her doctor father and family to Florida in 2015 and earned a full scholarship to Miami Dade College.
Lucas to date has not specifically elaborated on what led her to decline the coveted internship. Nor how the Trump administration’s dealing with NASA, may have affected her stance towards the space exploration agency.
Nevertheless, accusations of Trump’s autocratic disposition and handling of trade and judicial policy, including student protests and right to protest and controversial directives to universities may have played a part and concerns of how NASA now moves forward, like many other government agencies and institutions reliant on Trump’s mandates and goodwill (or lack of some may wonder?).
Also worthy of consideration is Trump’s stance on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, with references to ‘the first woman’ have since been removed from the public view about America’s return to the moon.
Social media responds to Daniela Lucas decision to reject NASA internship
Her video has been reposted by numerous accounts across social media — with reactions ranging from incredulity and mockery to support for Lucas sticking by her beliefs (yes kids, sometimes integrity and virtue over paycheck and career has some of us committed to the greater cause).
‘I feel like NASA dodged an asteroid there,’ one commenter wrote on X.
‘I endorse her decision as the best outcome for NASA,’ said another.
‘This has to be fake. No way someone applies for and is smart enough to be offered a NASA internship only to turn it down,’ reflected another. ‘But if it is real she sure showed them!! Or not.’
‘Excellent now someone with a science and engineering agenda instead of an activist agenda will get it instead,’ wrote another.
Wondered another, ‘I don’t get it. Why not just take the internship? What does it matter whose is the White House?’
‘Self-canceling. This is the final frontier of the woke,’ wrote one commenter.
Others meanwhile sided with Luca, congratulating her for sticking to her guns.
‘You can disagree with her reasons, but she’s sticking to it. Our so called conservative politicians should take note. This is what sticking to the cause looks like,’ wrote one social media user.
NASA’s internships are considered ‘prestigious’ with over 2,000 students applying for a spot each year.
NASA internships were recently ranked as the single most prestigious program across all fields by internship resource Vault.com — beating out the likes of Google, Apple, Goldman Sachs, the CIA, SpaceX and BlackRock.
Interns have gone on to become astronauts and astronomers discovering planets outside our solar system, and have launched lifelong careers at the space agency, NASA said.
