What is your next adventure?

Right now, I’m actively interviewing for multiple positions, specifically as an electric propulsion engineer. So, it could be the East Coast, West Coast, or even London.  

What about your next adventure are you most looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to being home and spending time with my family in Puerto Rico. I think this will be one of the last times, in the near future, that I will get to spend some indefinite time with them, so I’m really excited to do that. On the other hand, I’m also looking forward to working on novel technologies and applying everything I’ve learned here at Georgia Tech.

Did you have any previous co-op, internship, or research experience in this area?

In January 2021, I started working in the Combustion Laboratory, and given that the work was strongly correlated to the work in the High-Power Electric Propulsion Laboratory, I started working in that lab as well. 

From there, I worked at Aerojet Rocketdyne and Maxar Technologies and at both of them, I worked with electric propulsion systems. I worked with NASA’s new space station, the Lunar Gateway, more specifically the power and propulsion element. It was really interesting to get a perspective of both the customer and the manufacturer.

During my graduate career, I have been working with Dr. Tsikata on a plasma diagnostics system for a thruster technology that, in my opinion, is making a comeback. It has honestly been an absolute privilege to work with one of the most brilliant minds in the plasma physics field, so I think Georgia Tech is really lucky to have her.

How did your educational experience at Georgia Tech help you to achieve your goals? 

Georgia Tech itself has a unique set of doors to opportunities that I feel are always open for students to explore, and I think it’s very encouraged as well. In terms of classes, the first example that really comes to mind is one of the aerospace options classes: Flight Test Engineering. We had a project where we had to create a test plan and actually perform it on Cessna, and then conduct the data analysis. Although my thing isn't really aircraft, I think that experience, along with similar classes and my research, pushed me to actually apply what I learned, with an engineering mindset beyond the classroom.

It's one thing to solve this problem where I explicitly tell you everything you need to solve versus, a real-life problem where you need to actually figure out what things you need and then solve it.

What advice would you give to an underclassman who would like to follow the same path?

One piece of advice I give to all of my mentees is to not compare yourself to others. I think Georgia Tech offers you the tools to define your own journey. You might feel overwhelmed with grades, classes, and projects just because a peer may seem like they’re having an easier time. It doesn’t mean you’re not worthy of your hard-earned title as a Georgia Tech student. 

I think of it like running a race. You don’t look back, you don’t look to the side. You focus and you look forward. Sometimes it’s even hard for me to apply it to myself, but I just have to remember it too.