Woke Student Declines Her Dream Internship at NASA—Cites Trump Politics [WATCH]

A California PhD student has gained national attention after publicly rejecting a highly competitive NASA internship, citing concerns with the “current administration” in a viral social media post, as reported by The New York Post.

Daniela Lucas, a 26-year-old bioengineering doctoral student at the University of California, San Diego, shared a TikTok video this week in which she formally declined a coveted offer from NASA’s Human Health and Performance internship program.

The video, set to emotional piano music, shows Lucas clicking “Decline Offer” on her screen while visibly upset.

“No one tells you how hard it is to reject an offer from your dream internship at NASA because of the current administration. I worked years to receive this letter, just to have to decline.”

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Lucas, who immigrated to the U.S. from Venezuela in 2015 and earned a full scholarship to Miami Dade College before attending UC San Diego, did not provide further details about her decision.

According to her university bio, she has spent years pursuing research in biomedical engineering and space medicine.

The post has been widely shared across social media platforms, with users expressing a range of reactions. Some criticized her move as performative or misguided, while others praised her for standing by her convictions.

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

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“I feel like NASA dodged an asteroid there,” one user wrote on X.

“I endorse her decision as the best outcome for NASA,” another added.

Others supported Lucas, viewing her as a principled example.

“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,” one comment read.

NASA internships were recently ranked by Vault.com as the most prestigious internship program across all industries, surpassing opportunities at companies like Google, Apple, Goldman Sachs, and SpaceX.

NASA notes that interns frequently go on to become career scientists, astronauts, and researchers in the space agency’s long-term missions.

While President Donald Trump has historically supported NASA, increasing the agency’s budget by 10% to over $22 billion during his first term, recent reports have indicated his 2026 budget proposal may include significant cuts.

A report from Ars Technica cited plans to reduce NASA’s funding by 20%, impacting multiple research departments.

Trump’s broader policy goals also include scaling back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across federal agencies, including NASA, reversing efforts implemented under the previous administration.

Lucas and NASA have not issued any formal comment in response to the attention surrounding the post.

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