44 UNDERGRADUATE LEADERS RECEIVE THE BROOKE OWENS FELLOWSHIP AS THE CLASS OF 2025
February 10, 2025 | Washington, DC
The Brooke Owens Fellowship—a nationally acclaimed nonprofit program recognizing exceptional undergraduate women and gender minorities with space and aviation internships, senior mentorship, and a lifelong professional network—announces its Class of 2025 Brooke Owens Fellows.
The 2025 Brooke Owens Fellows are the ninth class of “Brookies.” The Fellows were selected through a competitive application process that involved applicants submitting technical and creative submissions, interviews with the Fellowships leadership team and Brookie alumni, and reviews from leading aerospace companies. The program received over 400 applications from promising and talented students spanning Ivy League universities, major research universities, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), liberal arts colleges, community colleges, and major international universities. The 2025 Fellows were ultimately selected based on their incredible talent, desire to pursue a career in aerospace, stand-out creative abilities, strong record of leadership, and most importantly, a commitment to their communities.
The Brooke Owens Fellows will each be matched to an executive-level mentor in the aerospace industry who will support and work with the Fellows to help launch their careers in addition to a Brookie Alumni Mentor. This summer, the Fellows will start their internships and come together in July for the annual Brooke Owens Summit. The Class of 2025 will also now join a network of over 350+ Brookie alumni spanning all aspects of space and aviation including engineering, scientific research, policy, journalism, and entrepreneurship.
The Brooke Owens Fellowship was founded in 2016 to honor the memory of beloved industry pioneer and accomplished pilot D. Brooke Owens, who passed away in June 2016 at the age of 35, after a hard-fought battle with cancer. The program was co-founded by Lori Garver, the former Deputy Administrator of NASA; Cassie Lee, CEO of Sound Future; and William Pomerantz, the Head of Space Ventures at AeroVironment. The Brooke Owens Fellowship celebrates its ongoing mission and legacy of disrupting the historical gender imbalance in the aerospace industry by continuing its mission to provide opportunities and access to talented young professionals from women and gender minorities from all backgrounds.
Today, the Brooke Owens Fellowship is led by a 5-person Executive Team that includes Caryn Schenewerk, President of CS Consulting LLC and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center; Kayla Watson, a System Reliability Engineer at Amazon Prime Air; Lori Garver, co-founder of the Brooke Owens Fellowship and former Deputy Administrator of NASA; Maddie Kothe, West Coast Recovery Manager at SpaceX, and Sirisha Bandla, Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations at Virgin Galactic.
“The entire Brookie family are excited to welcome the 2025 class of Brooke Owens Fellows,” Lori Garver said, on behalf of the Executive Team. “The 2025 Fellows represent incredible leaders who span many different communities and are committed to making a difference in the aerospace industry with their unique, individual talents.”
The 2025 Brooke Owens Fellows are:
Abby Frank, a Junior studying Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at Purdue University.
Valeria Lopez, a Junior studying Astrophysics and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Williams College.
Alex Key, a Sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University.
Alex Rhoads, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at Pennsylvania State University.
Alisa Higuchi, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southern California.
Andra Oltean, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Anna Cabra, a Senior studying Physics and Mathematics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Annie Gao, a Sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania.
Breanna Blair, a Senior studying Electrical Engineering at Washington State University Tri-Cities.
Caeley Hodges, a Senior studying Chemical Engineering at the University of Idaho.
Catherine Blumhagen, a Senior studying Communications, Law, Economics, and Government at American University.
Catherine Fang, a Senior studying Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Cat-Linh Tran, a Senior studying Mechanical Engineering at Rice University.
Chanel Davis, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering-Astronautics at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.
Colette Fisher, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University.
Emily Albornoz, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Emma Fini, a Junior studying Political Science at the University of Michigan.
Eniola Irinoye, a Sophomore studying Electronics Engineering Technology at Grambling State University.
Estela Villacis, a Senior studying Mechanical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis.
Hailey Polson, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Han Duong, a Senior studying Aerospace Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Heavyn Porter, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.
Kara Gaiser, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.
Karsen Kitchen, a Senior studying Interpersonal and Organizational Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Kyler Silas, a Junior studying Engineering Physics at Tulane University.
Lindsey Tober, a Senior studying Technological Leadership at Arizona State University.
Matilda Damon, a Sophomore studying Astrophysics at Brown University.
McKenna McMurray, a Junior studying Engineering at Harvey Mudd College.
Meira Griffel, a Sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering at Oregon State University.
Montserrat Hernandez, a Senior studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Pauline Petersen, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering.
Peijuan Huang, a Sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering at Cerritos College.
Pia dela Cruz, a Senior studying Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley.
Regan O'Neill, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University.
Sam Vinu-Srivatsan, a Sophomore studying Electrical Engineering & Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Sara Kapasi, a Junior studying Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Sarine Mardirosian, a Junior studying Astrophysics at Columbia University.
Shanaya Barretto, a Junior studying Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo.
Shivani Patwardhan, a Sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering at Purdue University.
Stewart Key, a Junior studying Physics and Astronomy at Emory University.
Sydney Diaz, a Sophomore studying Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.
Vaibhavi Mahajan, a Junior studying Science, Technology, and International Affairs at Georgetown University.
Xitlalli Castañeda, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University.
Yosefine Santiago-Hernandez, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez Campus.