What motivated you to enter the space industry?
As a bioengineering major, I’m interested in solutions that interface with humans. I found an incredible passion for developing these systems for astronauts. Now I’m growing my skills in aerospace engineering to combine the two when I enter the workforce.

Tell us about Space Happy Hour. What’s been your experience with it?
Space Happy Hour (SHH) is a nonprofit networking organization that aims to bring space professionals and enthusiasts together in a low-stress, casual environment. A friend connected me with Craig Baerwaldt, the organizer. We had a great chat, kicked off our first event a couple months afterwards, and have been going strong ever since!

What’s the best conversation/connection you’ve made with Space Happy Hour?
A Blue Origin astronaut attending one of our collaboration events! It was such a cool opportunity to talk to him and pick his brain on what his experience was like, how he felt in that moment, and the journey to get to where he did.

What is one thing you wish more people knew about in the space industry?
It’s so much more diverse than at first glance! At first you see the impressive engineering technology at the launchpad, but there are so many people that come together to make it a reality. Business development managers and analysts on the customer/cost side, space policy advisors for regulations approval, healthcare professionals for crew research, etc all contribute. And we all have a huge passion for space, so if you share that, then we’d love for you to join this industry!

What gets you the most excited for the future of space?
We’re in an amazing time where the technologies are being developed and launched and believe that we’ll continue to see even more incredible feats of science and engineering in the next decade and beyond.