What is your next adventure?
I'm remaining at Georgia Tech in the BS/MS Program to earn my master’s degree in controls in autonomy with robotics. I'm currently talking to Professor Adam Steinberg and Professor Kelly Griendling, going back and forth, but there's a chance I might work with a new professor. I want to pursue a Ph.D. eventually, and a master's is a step before the Ph.D. that will give me more research experience and more challenging course work. Pursuing a Ph.D.  is an opportunity to do cutting-edge research and be at the forefront of the field.

After completing my master's and potentially a Ph.D., I'm determined to enter industry. My goal is to contribute to the next generation of Eurospace, envisioning what it will look like in the next 20 or 30 years. As an international student from Madrid, Spain, I'm ready to bring my diverse perspective to the table.

What about your next adventure are you most looking forward to?
I'm excited about shifting focus and having ownership of a research project because the research that I've done as an undergraduate has been supporting a graduate student. As an undergraduate, I've been involved in a lot of different organizations, you know, doing clubs. And I'm also excited about the courses, just being able to fully choose what classes I want to take and specialize a lot more.

Did you have any previous co-op, internship, or research experience in this area?
I interned in the summer of 2023 at optimAero, a small consulting company specializing in unmanned aerial systems. The company is run by Georgia Tech graduate students. They were Ph.D.  students at Georgia Tech, and they started the consulting company in Tachypneic, California. While there, I worked with Archer, which is one of the aero taxi companies developing air taxis for New York City and other big cities. I was able to help with projects within the company, but also work for other companies. So, it was a great way to get more experience in controls and learn a huge variety of things over the course of one summer.

How did your educational experience at Georgia Tech help you to achieve your goals?
Access to research, student organizations, and clubs without any aerospace experience was vital because it gave me the ability to explore various interests. It's pretty unique to Georgia Tech to be able to get involved as early as your first year and get hands-on experience to complement your studies. The classes have been great, and I've had good professors who taught me the foundations, but being able to complement that with hands-on research, clubs, and an internship has been really special. I conducted research in combustion under Professor Steinberg for three semesters, but I was able to explore my interest in controls as well. Being able to try out different fields within aerospace because the curriculum touches on everything, and the research and clubs cover almost every aspect of aerospace engineering.

What advice would you give to an underclassman who would like to follow the same path?
Make connections and stay connected within the School of Aerospace Engineering because that's when opportunities will arise. As a member of SAESAC, I was able to meet many of the faculty and connect with them, as well as many students, through the different initiatives where SAESAC collaborated.  We worked with different leaders and organizations, so we ended up finding out about various opportunities just from the connection.

There's a lot of pressure at Georgia Tech, and the culture is competitive. You see people being successful, and you may feel like you’re not doing enough. Don’t let their success negatively influence you. Forge your own path following your passions, get involved, and get connected.