Life as a student these days can involve much more than just classes. Several new NASA initiatives aim to involve college students in mission science in all areas, including instrument design and development. NASA’s new PUNCH mission includes a student-built x-ray spectrometer as part of its instrument suite, which will provide valuable diagnostic data that can help the PUNCH team understand how the corona is heated as well as how the solar wind undergoes its initial acceleration from the surface of the Sun. This week we talk with one CU student who is the project manager for the instrument team, facilitating the collaboration between students and scientists.