What motivated you to enter the space industry?
My dad was an aerospace engineer so I’ve been going to launches and surrounded by space since I was a little kid. He hung glow-in-the-dark star stickers and planets from the ceiling of my childhood bedroom; I think I always thought I’d end up in aerospace too.

Trade show marketing is an unconventional career path. How did you find yourself in it?
Honestly? I just got lucky - I applied to an events role at Airbus when I first graduated. They had already interviewed someone and accepted them by the time I had applied, but the person ended up turning the role down and I got an interview.

Through all the trade shows you have attended, what companies have you seen that inspired you most? Why?
This is such a good question! I think Anduril, ShieldAI, and Ansys have been the top 3 companies that I consistently see bringing their A-game to tradeshows; the branding is always clean, the sponsorship is always unique, and they really create an experience on the show floor for the customers that isn’t just stickers or keytags.

What have you learned from your time in this
industry so far?
I think the coolest thing about my job is that I get to work with every department - Engineers, Business Development, Procurement, Supply Chain, the Executive Office, etc. I’ve learned most people don’t have conventional paths; in fact, some of my finance colleagues have a master’s in engineering; my bids/proposals colleague did government undergrad! Growth is not linear, so if you are out there struggling in AP Calc, just know that you can still find a way into space; there are many niche functions necessary for collaboration to get things into orbit. As a bonus, even though I don’t have a technical background, I’ve been able to learn a lot of the technical aspects of Airbus’ products, which is super interesting, and not something I ever thought I’d get the chance to understand.