Why did you choose to study at Illinois?

U. of I. was one of my target schools from the beginning because of the reputation of its engineering programs. The benefits of staying in-state and attending a school with such a vibrant campus and strong social culture weighed heavily in my decision.

Why aerospace engineering?

I have been obsessed with airplanes, rockets and everything that flies since I first flew on a Boeing 747 when I was just five years old. Before college I always thought I was going to be a pilot, but designing and building the planes is just as cool!

What course or professor helped you choose your specialty?

AE 442/443 Aerospace Systems Design taught by Dr. Merret helped me the most professionally by far. I have learned and applied concrete skills in design, requirements, system-wide integration and leadership that I know will follow me throughout my career. This class has also taught me to train my engineering "gut" and how to think from a wider perspective when developing a full vehicle with many complex moving parts.

AE 353 Aerospace Controls Systems taught by Dr. Ornik was also fundamental in helping me discover an aptitude for controls and helped me further explore this interest. The way this course was taught helped me think intuitively about what is ordinarily a rather challenging and confusing subject.

What projects helped you gain technical expertise?

In AE 483, we programmed a controller for a small quadcopter and flew it autonomously through an obstacle course for our final project. This project reinforced my interest in programming, especially for aerospace controls, and I gained a lot of expertise on programming for flying vehicles. I learned a lot about the challenges of practically marrying software and theory to imperfect hardware

What are you particularly proud of?

I am particularly proud of the aircraft that my team and I have developed for our senior design course AE 443. We were faced with very challenging requirements regarding the endurance, turn rate, cost and weight of the aircraft and had to make many compromises to design a complete vehicle in a limited time frame. I think that in a relatively short period we produced a thoroughly-designed airplane that everyone on the team has ownership of. 

Did you have any internships?

In the summer of 2023, I interned with Northrop Grumman Space Systems in Dulles, Virginia. There, I supported a National Security Satellite program in a systems engineering role working on fault management, harness design and system flowdown.

The following summer of 2024, I interned at United Launch Alliance in Denver, Colorado as a flight software intern. I spent that summer producing a hardware testing tool for an experimental program slated to fly on the Vulcan rocket.

Describe a challenge you faced and how you resolved it? 

I struggled particularly with Incompressible Aerodynamics and Structures subjects, especially in AE 311 and 323. These topics were just harder for me to wrap my head around because there were so many formulas, equations and long matrices that made my head spin when I saw them.

 However, a combination of office hours, carefully reviewing notes after lecture, and studying with friends helped me eventually understand the material and get through.

What extracurricular experience stands out as memorable for you?

From 2022-2024, I served as the project manager for the Solid Propulsion Team of the Illinois Space Society, where I led a group of my peers in researching, developing, and testing solid rocket motors. The most memorable part of this experience was testing our motors after refining the manufacturing process over many months, and finding out from the results that our motors were nearly 99 percent ideal in composition. This validated the time and effort we'd spent over two years to produce high-quality motors.

How did you decide what to do after you graduate?

After interning at United Launch Alliance in 2024, I was offered to return full time. I really liked the work culture at the company and felt that I could accomplish some of my early career goals here, so I decided to accept the full time position. I will be working as a flight software engineer.

How did the pandemic affect you?

The pandemic came with restrictions that were still in place for my freshman year at Illinois. While classes were mostly normal, in that year there were still rules about wearing masks, testing and quarantining if infected.

I contracted COVID in January of 2022 and was sent to be quarantined off-campus for a week, which was a somewhat rough experience. This taught me to take more serious precautions and to be more mindful of personal and public health preventative measures.

Do you have other career goals?

I want to complete a master's degree in engineering within the next five years, and also complete an MBA shortly after that.

What's on your bucket list for the next five years?

• Visit national parks in Canada
• Visit Japan
• Complete an MS degree
• Become involved in local activities in whatever community I live in
• Return to Illinois to watch a football game!