• Patti Grace Smith Fellow, Class of 2025

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Aerospace Engineering, ‘27

• Host Institution: Stoke

Hello! I am a second-year undergraduate student majoring in aerospace engineering and minoring in African and African diaspora studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I am interested in pursuing space governance and space accessibility. My career objective is to leverage my technical expertise and passion for policy development to contribute significantly to the sustainable and inclusive exploration and utilization of outer space. I aim to work at the intersection of aerospace engineering and public policy, advocating for responsible space governance frameworks, fostering international collaboration, and advancing technologies that promote equitable access to space resources and opportunities. I aspire to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of space exploration while ensuring its benefits are shared by all of humanity. The familiar face of the man on the moon and his twinkling companions have always fascinated me, but I did not consider aerospace engineering as a career possibility until my parents showed me Hidden Figures. I recognized a familiar ambition in Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. I hope to be a similar source of inspiration for the Black women to follow me. I enjoy challenging traditional perspectives and pursuing positive change, and I believe this field caters to this objective. As a resilient learner eager to be challenged, I know my parents are proud to witness the individual I have grown to be as a result of the reverence for education they instilled in me. Previously, I conducted research in MIT’s Media Lab in the Space Enabled Group with Dr. Danielle Wood on African space agencies and their policies. I hope to gain more technical experience throughout the rest of my academic career and will likely go into industry post-graduation.