I developed the skills needed to confidently apply for the mechanical and propulsion intern position at Aurora because I am a helper.  Across the country at the Kennedy Space Center, about twelve years ago, I heard that the Shuttle program was ending. However, the kind tour guide also told this ten-year-old that the first people on Mars had already been born. I exclaimed, "I don't wanna go, I hate heights!" My mother chucked and added, "If you can't go, you can help them go!" Since then, I have set my path to be the best helper I can be, especially through robotic design and testing.

Through high school and university, I've positioned myself in leadership and individually contributing roles where I can help the most. Progressing through a small robotics team, machine shop, formula student team, manufacturing plant, robotic tooling company, and national lab, I have learned the process of creating technical drawings, fabricating, assembling, and verifying quality. Throughout history, we’ve seen that our tools determine where we go. While Aurora primarily uses unmanned systems, it’s clear that the designers know that their work is the future of the world that humans are piloting.

My internships at ATI Industrial Automation allowed me to collaborate with a community that is making an impact on Earth (and Mars) through manufacturing integrated robotics products. In the design verification lab and the robotic applications development group, I created pre-production test plans, ran experiments, conducted analysis, and presented results. I am proud to have contributed to the safety of pre-production sample evaluation through the design and fabrication of a material handling fixture.

At Sandia National Labs, I am using these methods to evaluate single sensors through to full systems in a physical security context. Designing hardware for long-duration and high-cycle-rate robotic testing of human interface devices has been a significant and rewarding challenge. The individuals of Sandia have succeeded in their field because their breadth of engineering and interpersonal insight creates greatness. I am now starting to see my breadth of experience bearing fruits personally and in design projects.

The most recent of these fruits is my website and design showcase www.iterable.design. I built this site to more easily display my engineering progression in today’s online world, and because it was hard to do. I learned how to shrink my ideas into a meaningful presentation with real consequences if I fail. Many of my projects use data analysis, Python, SOLIDWORKS, AutoCAD, MATLAB, and other digital designing tools which help me share passionately. The most fulfilling projects have been those that bring others joy.

As a graduate researcher in the Nonlinear Control and Robotics group, honors undergraduate with a thesis on robotic sensing and kinematics, project engineer of a robotic 3D printer student group, and with instructional roles in Aerospace and Mechanical Design capstone courses, I have developed a passion for academic, rigorous, and technical communication of the engineering design process.

I am continuing to broaden my experience with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering with a certificate in advanced manufacturing at the University of Florida. My use of design principles, testing processes, and communication skills to help others has been greatly amplified by my experiences in and out of Florida’s lecture halls. I hope to continue this path at Aurora in the spring or summer of 2025.

I appreciate your consideration,