What is your next adventure?

I'll be working for Blue Origin as a propulsion engineer at Cape Canaveral.

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

I’m looking forward to starting my full-time career in a sunny place like Florida. Coming out of college, I wanted to be on the East Coast near my family in New Jersey. Since freshman year, I’ve wanted to be a propulsion engineer. I tried different things throughout my four years to discover what made me happy. At the end, I was offered a propulsion job.

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

I worked at the High-Power Electric Propulsion Laboratory (HPEPL) since spring of 23 through the spring of 24 with Dr. Walker, and grad students like David Jovel. I mostly helped with running experiments, doing CAD models for the experiments, and then doing some data analysis. Overall, I acquired a lot of knowledge from the work. David was an excellent mentor in the lab, and he made sure I was learning. In the summer of 2023, I worked at Astrobotic in Mojave, CA. I was testing their hopper and doing other projects. I learned a lot about liquid rocket engines, which I had previously covered in my aerospace classes. So that was cool. Then, in the Spring of 2024, I worked at Stoke Space in Moses Lake, Washington. As a test engineer, I focused on building up and maintaining other test stations, and then I also tested some of their thrusters. In the summer of 2024, I worked at Blue Origin's launch site in Van Horn, Texas. I worked on testing 3-PM engines and upgrading the test stand. Currently, I’m working in the Nuclear Thermal Propulsion lab, in the nuclear department with Dan Kotlyar. We're working on mission analysis for a nuclear reactor mission.

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

At Georgia Tech, there are a lot of opportunities to apply what you learn outside of the classroom. I used the Aerospace Machine Shop to build things. I joined the Ramblin’ Rocket Club, where I could apply the engineering principles I learned in class. The classes and working with professors in the research labs were crucial to my success. The student organizations and my research lab helped me get my first internship. The networking opportunities at Georgia Tech helped me achieve my goals. I also made great connections as a part of the Filipino Student Association and the AE ambassadors.

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

Try to connect with people in research, student clubs, and different companies. As you do, you will discover what aligns with your career goals and meet people along the way. Even if you don’t stay with the first job/lab you choose, the time spent isn’t wasted because you learned something new and met others. You can still enjoy the experience. Get exposure to the various aspects of aerospace through doing research in the labs and working with student organizations. I gained mentors working in the lab and in the rocket club who helped me learn and taught me how to do job interviews.