• Brooke Owens Fellow, Class of 2021

• University of Colorado Boulder, Aerospace Engineering, ‘22

• Host Institution: Blue Origin

• Mentor: Scott Parazynski

• Brookie Mentor: Kristina Dong

Grace Antonucci is a junior studying aerospace engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. Ever since Grace was a little girl, she was a planner. When other kids were out on the playground, she was with her best friend debating the intricately fine details of their imaginary boarding school. If those little girls on the picnic bench saw Grace now, they would say “CUT!”. She is behind schedule and off-script.

Truth be told, Grace never planned to be an aerospace engineer. The thought of a STEM career only occurred to her senior year of high school after coming to terms with the fact that medical school might not be a great choice for someone who looks away during the surgical scenes of Grey’s Anatomy.

So, Grace made another plan. She enrolled in the engineering college for applied math and soon after added a degree in engineering physics. Grace began research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology on an indoor localization system aimed to save firefighters in burning buildings. This project was her first taste of the career she had thought she wanted. Frankly, it never felt as rewarding as she’d imagined it would.

Almost two years ago, Grace left her plan and switched her major to aerospace engineering. All the planning in the world can’t predict the feeling; she feels like she has already made it. Space feels like home. In the summer of 2020, Grace had the wonderful opportunity to work at Sierra Nevada Corporation, conducting structural analysis on the Dream Chaser’s wing design.

Grace knows now that planning is not the same thing as dreaming. Her planning is finished. Grace is incredibly excited to work with her host institution, Blue Origin, and can’t wait for the opportunities in store for the summer of 2021.