What is your next adventure?

I’ll begin working at Lockheed Martin Space in Virginia as a systems engineer. Before I start there, I plan to do some traveling to Ethiopia, where my parents are from, and visit family.

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

I’m definitely excited about starting my employment with Lockheed. I look forward to starting my assignment and getting experience in the industry and working for a space company is exciting. 

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

Coming here, I knew that I wanted to do a lot of research and get hands-on experience, so during my sophomore year I enrolled in one of Georgia Tech’s Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) courses. VIP is a program where students work with faculty and graduate students in their areas of scholarship and exploration, my course was exploratory robotics.

In that class we worked on the aerodynamic analysis of NASA's prandtl-m project. The following two semesters I worked on the development of an autonomous on-campus delivery drone system while also working in the Aerospace Systems Design Lab (ASDL) for the Airspace Propulsion Outreach Program (APOP). I worked with that group for two years where we identified modifications of a small jet cat engine.

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

The AE program, being as difficult as it is, definitely developed my critical thinking skills aside from the research projects that I was involved in. All of the other extracurricular activities that I did at Tech helped me apply the concepts that I learned in the classroom setting and apply it to actual real-world, practical problems. Like any project, you face challenges and trying to figure that out and maneuvering around the challenges or hurdles that was one of the skills that I acquired from the research projects.

One of the best things about my experience at Tech has been being able to interact and connect with like-minded individuals. I’ve met so many people here that have helped me to become a better person and a better engineer.

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

Take advantage of the resources that are available to you, whether that be the research facilities that we have on campus, including the faculty. They're here to help you through the course work and help you achieve your goals, so don't be afraid to reach out to them. 

Make sure to get involved in projects, research, or student organizations. Expand the group you hang out because they will help you to gain new perspective and build your community.