51 EXCEPTIONAL STUDENTS SELECTED FOR THE MOST DIVERSE BROOKE OWENS FELLOWSHIP CLASS YET
51 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS EARN THEIR PLACE AT LEADING AEROSPACE ORGANIZATIONS IN THE BROOKE OWENS FELLOWSHIP CLASS OF 2022
January 27, 2022 | New York, NY
The Brooke Owens Fellowship—a nationally-acclaimed nonprofit program recognizing exceptional undergraduate women and other gender minorities with space and aviation internships, senior mentorship, and a lifelong professional network—announced its newest, most diverse class of Brooke Owens Fellows today.
The Class of 2022 marks the sixth class of “Brookie” Fellows and were selected from the Fellowship’s most competitive application year. More than 1,000 promising and talented students applied worldwide, coming from Ivy League universities, major research universities, historically black colleges and universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, and major international universities. Fifty-One Fellows were selected through a fair and competitive application process involving written and creative submissions, interviews with the Fellowship’s leadership team and its close network, and interviews with 36 leading aerospace employers from across multiple sectors in the US aerospace industry. The Fellows were selected based on their commitment to their communities, stand-out creative abilities, record of leadership, incredible talent, and their desire to pursue a career in aerospace.
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. This summer, the Fellows will start their internships and come together for the annual Brooke Owens Summit in Washington, DC. The Class of 2022 will also become part of the network of 198 Brookie alumnae 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 and now CEO of Earthrise Alliance; Cassie Lee, Advanced Programs Lead for Weather and Remote Sensing at Lockheed Martin Space; and William Pomerantz, the Vice President for Special Projects at Virgin Orbit. 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 historically-underrepresented genders.
Today, the Brooke Owens Fellowship is led by the 5-person Executive Team that includes Caroline Juang, a Ph.D. Candidate at Columbia University in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences; Diana Trujillo, an Aerospace Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Emily Calandrelli, a science communicator and host of Netflix’s Emily’s Wonder Lab; Kayla Watson, a System Reliability Engineer at Amazon Prime Air; and Will Pomerantz, co-founder of the Brooke Owens Fellowship.
Together, the 5-person Executive Team led the selection for this year’s Fellows. Reflecting on the latest class, Calandrelli says, “We are thrilled to have our most diverse class yet, continuing our push to bring incredible new talent into the aerospace industry. Aerospace is a challenging field with a global impact and an insatiable demand for talent, and these fifty-one students represent a vital influx of skill, creativity, passion, and purpose. As a group, this year’s Fellows represent more countries, races and ethnicities, and gender minorities than any previous class. We’re looking forward to watching them make their mark on the aerospace industry.”
The 2022 Brooke Owens Fellows are:
Akila Saravanan, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering and Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Saravanan will work at Venturi Astrolab in Hawthorne, CA.
Amanda Desmond, a Junior studying Economics and Space Science at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Desmond will work at Voyager Space Holdings in Denver, CO.
Anna Compas, a Senior studying Mechanical Engineering at University of Kentucky. Compas will work at Zipline in San Francisco, CA.
Audrey Scott, a Sophomore studying Astrophysics and Anthropology at The University of Chicago. Scott will work at Ball Aerospace in Boulder, CO.
Azzurra Demarie, a Senior studying Aerospace Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. Demarie will work at SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA.
Carly Schneider, a Junior studying Industrial Engineering at Western New England University. Schneider will work at Relativity Space in Long Beach, CA.
Catherine Fischer, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering Technology at Old Dominion University. Fischer will work at Ball Aerospace in Washington, D.C.
Christina Dong, a Senior studying Physics and Dance at Pomona College. Dong will work at HawkEye360 in Herndon, VA.
Emily Matteson, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering at Cornell University. Matteson will work at The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, CA.
Erica Kriner, a Senior studying Geography and Sustainability at Arizona State University. Kriner will work at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD.
Erika Jarosch, a Senior studying Aerospace Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Jarosch will work at Sierra Nevada Corporation in Colorado.
Grace Wilson Jackson, a Senior studying Peace and Justice Studies and Astronomy at Wellesley College. Jackson will work at the Aerospace Industries Association in Arlington, VA.
Gwendolyn Tsai, a Senior studying Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Tsai will work at Hermeus Corp. in Atlanta, GA.
Hanna Mark, a Senior studying Mechanical Engineering at Duke University. Mark will work at Sierra Nevada Corporation in Colorado.
Hanna Stec, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at Iowa State. Stec will work at Iridium in Leesburg, VA.
Hannah Nabavi, a Sophomore studying Engineering Physics at University of California, Berkeley. Nabavi will work at Virgin Orbit in Long Beach, CA.
Isabelle Peloso, a Sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration at University of California, Berkeley. Peloso will work at SpaceX in Redmond, WA.
Jennifer Berry, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering at University of Canterbury. Berry will work at Space Capital in New York City, NY.
Julianne Tighe, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering at Duke University. Tighe will work at Stratolaunch in Mojave, CA.
Katlynn Vicuna, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering with Aerospace Focus at University of Hawaii at Manoa. Vicuna will work at Lockheed Martin in Littleton, CO.
Lillian Sudkamp, a Sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott. Sudkamp will work at Iridium in McLean, VA.
Lillian Tso, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Tso will work at Blue Origin in Seattle, WA.
Liza Graybill, a Sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering at University of Colorado Boulder. Graybill will work at Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, MA.
Madeleine Tran, a Senior studying Mechanical Engineering at University of Southern California. Tran will work at Lockheed Martin in Littleton, CO.
Manmeet Pelia, a Junior studying Electrical and Computer Engineering at United States Air Force Academy. Pelia will work at Hermeus Corporation in Atlanta, GA.
Marie Villarreal, a Junior studying International Relations and Political Science at Wellesley College. Villarreal will work at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C.
Maya Mishra, a Senior studying Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University. Mishra will work at MIT/SEI in Cambridge, MA.
Megan Jordan, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. Jordan will work at Amazon Prime Air in Seattle, WA.
Meredith Hunter, a Sophomore studying Electrical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. Hunter will work at The Boeing Company in El Segundo, CA.
Monica Namo, a Junior studying Mathematics at California State University, Long Beach. Namo will work at BryceTech in Alexandria, VA.
Mya Guillaume, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University. Guillaume will work at Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, CA.
Nathalie Vilchis Lagunes, a Senior studying Mechatronics Engineering and Applied Robotics at Tecnológico de Monterrey. Vilchis Lagunes will work at Planet in San Francisco, CA.
Nikita Manjuluri, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University. Manjuluri will work at Relativity Space in Long Beach, CA.
Priyanka Sarangabany, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sarangabany will work at Astranis in San Francisco, CA.
Rajaa Elhassan, a Junior studying Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at New York University. Elhassan will work at Blue Origin in Seattle, WA.
Raven Delfina Otero-Symphony, a Senior studying Statistics at The University of New Mexico. Otero-Symphony will work at Avascent in Washington, D.C.
Rose Ferreira, a Senior studying Astronomy and Planetary Sciences at Arizona State University. Ferreira will work at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD.
Sarah Fry, a Sophomore studying Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University. Fry will work at ABL Space Systems in El Segundo, CA
Shreyashee Bhattacharjee, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. Bhattacharjee will work at United Launch Alliance in Centennial, CO.
Sierra Malmberg, a Sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering at Arizona State University. Malmberg will work at SpaceX in Starbase, TX.
Simran Dhoju, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics at The University of Alabama. Dhoju will work at Planet in San Francisco, CA.
Sophia Teng, a Sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering at Cornell University. Teng will work at Airbus U.S. Space & Defense in Arlington, VA.
Soukaina Tachfouti, a Senior studying Aerospace Engineering at Université Internationale de Rabat. Tachfouti will work at Zipline in San Francisco, CA.
Susana Domene Marin, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at the University of Bristol. Domene Marin will work at Joby Aviation in Santa Cruz, CA.
Sydney Menne, a Junior studying Physics and Mathematics at the University of North Dakota. Menne will work at Virgin Orbit in Long Beach, CA.
Sydney Walthall, a Sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering at University of Colorado Boulder. Walthall will work at Northrop Grumman Space Systems in Dulles, VA.
Teresa Nguyen, a Sophomore studying Electrical Engineering at Portland State University. Nguyen will work at Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, MA.
Therese Malinowski, a Sophomore studying Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at Purdue University. Malinowski will work at Masten Space Systems in Mojave, CA.
Tinevimbo Ndlovu, a Senior studying Aerospace Engineering at Saint Louis University. Ndlovu will work at Loft Orbital in San Francisco, CA.
Tinise Lee, a Senior studying Mechanical Engineering at Ohlone College. Lee will work at Virgin Orbit in Long Beach, CA.
Vaishali Shah, a Senior studying Mechanical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Shah will work at Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA.
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