Patti Grace Smith Fellowship

I am very exited to share that I’ve been selected as a 2025 Patti Grace Smith Fellow and with that will be joining SES Space & Defense in Reston, VA as an intern this summer! Being part of the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship has already been incredible honor, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to connect with inspiring mentors, gain valuable industry experience, and contribute to the future of aerospace. Pairing this with an internship at SES Space & Defense is truly a dream come true! A huge thank you to the PGSF community and everyone who has supported me along the way. I can’t wait to get started and make the most of this incredible opportunity! #PattiGraceSmithFellowship #Internship #Aerospace #Defense #SES #NewOpportunities

It is absolutely surreal that I get to share the honor that I’ve been selected as part of the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship Class of 2025! This opportunity means the world to me, and I am so excited to join a community of inspiring and driven individuals who have (and will!) become strong pillars in the aerospace industry. Of course, I will gratefully make the most of this wonderful experience, not only to enable my own professional and technical development, but also as a way to deliver a message: nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it. Being a 2025 Fellow, I am also thrilled to announce that I will be joining Astroscale as a Mission Systems Intern! This opportunity aligns perfectly with my passion for mission operations and development, and I couldn’t think of a better place to gain hands-on experience. I deeply admire Astroscale’s commitment to sustainable space exploration, and I’m looking forward to contributing to their important work while learning from their incredible team. A HUGE thanks to William Pomerantz, Tiffany Russell Lockett, and the PGSF team as a whole. The existence of this program motivates students like me to strive for greatness without any worries. We will all accomplish great things thanks to you! I extend this heartfelt gratitude to Ian J. Santiago, a 2024 Fellow who encouraged me and believed in me throughout the entire application process. It was with your guidance that I managed to achieve this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! And of course—congratulations?to my amazing fellow PGSF Class of 2025 members! I can’t wait to connect, collaborate, and grow alongside all of you as we embark on this unforgettable journey. #AdAstraPerAspera #PGSF #MissionSystems #Aerospace #Engineering #Astroscale #Space

At Astroscale U.S., we take pride in mentoring the next generation of aerospace innovators and introducing them to a wide variety of career pathways.?? ? As such, we’re excited to share that two of our Summer 2025 interns come from the prestigious Patti Grace Smith Fellowship, a program that matches outstanding African-American undergraduate students with mentors and internships at leading aerospace companies.??? ? The fellowship program has had a big impact on Astroscale U.S. throughout the years. N'kira Brooks, a former intern and 2023 Patti Grace Smith fellow, is now a member of our engineering team, and Astroscale U.S. Director of Policy, Tahara Dawkins, recently joined the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship’s executive leadership team!? ? Learn more about this year’s group of Patti Grace Smith fellows, including incoming Astroscale U.S. interns Mariela Cepeda and Courtney Baker:?https://lnkd.in/gsNAnrhD ? Read more about Patti Grace Smith, the inspirational aerospace trailblazer and mentor:?https://lnkd.in/e7A7urF5

Last week, I was fortunate to attend the Aviation Week Network 20 Twenties Luncheon and 67th annual Laureate Awards! It was a incredible opportunity to network with the other amazing 20 Twenty winners as well as leaders across the aerospace industry. I am grateful to Anna Dariotis and team for organizing a wonderful experience! I want to say thank you once again to Black Students in Aerospace - University of Michigan, Patti Grace Smith Fellowship, Michigan Aerospace, George Halow, and my entire support network for helping me get to where I am today! ??: Tina de la Rosa #GoBlue #MichiganEngineering

Reflecting on an Incredible year This post is long overdue. I wanted to update my network on what I have been up to this past year. This past year has been filled with growth, meaningful experiences, and inspiring connections. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunities I’ve had and for everyone who has supported me along the way. Here are a few highlights from this year: ?? NASA SpaceX Crew-8 Social Media Credential I had the incredible opportunity to attend the social media activities and launch of NASA SpaceX’s Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station at Kennedy Space Center. Meeting professionals I admire—such as astronaut Leland Melvin and astronaut Nicole Stott and my friend Rosie Johnson ?? Speaker & Science Communication A special thank you to LaNiqua Bell for helping me launch my journey as a speaker and science communicator! I had the honor of serving as a guest speaker for The Museum of Flight Amelia Aero Club Glo Up Aviatrix Workshop, where I shared my engineering journey with students. It has been incredibly rewarding to inspire the next generation in STEM, and I am excited to continue expanding my portfolio with more speaking engagements. If you are looking for a speaker in aerospace, engineering, or STEM outreach and advocacy, I would love to connect! ?? Blue Origin Summer 2024 Intern This past summer, I had the privilege of interning at Blue Origin 4670 test stand in Huntsville, Alabama. Thank you to my mentors and friends at Blue, especially Allison Beaulieu, Hailey Polson, Susan Martínez for always being a sounding board and a source of inspiration when I needed it most. ?? NASA Space Grant Scholar & Alabama Space Grant Ambassador Becoming a NASA Space Grant Scholar and Alabama Space Grant Ambassador has been an incredible honor. I even had the opportunity to speak with Representative Pringle about the positive impact ASGC has on students across the state. Thank you to my friends Alabama Space Grant Consortium (ASGC) for being my biggest supporters.? ???? Volunteering with Reinvented Magazine I loved being part of Princess with Power Tools and the STEM Fashion Show! Thank you, Caeley Looney, for fostering so many opportunities for women in STEM. If you’re not familiar with Reinvented Magazine, I highly recommend checking out and supporting this incredible nonprofit. ?? Brooke Owens Fellowship Alumni Summit I had the opportunity to attend the Alumni Summit in Los Angeles, where I reconnected with incredible fellows. ?? Society of Women Engineers Conference – Chicago Attending the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Conference in Chicago was another highlight of my year. It was inspiring to engage with other women in STEM and continue building a supportive professional network. This year has been truly transformative, and I’m excited for what’s ahead in 2025. To everyone who has been part of this journey—thank you! Looking forward to new challenges, opportunities, and growth in the coming year.

I'm excited to share that I will be joining AeroVironment this summer as a Mechanical Engineer Intern in their Space Division. I’d like to give a special thanks to Quinn Ludwig for ensuring a smooth and seamless internship process. I also look forward to working alongside William Pomerantz, Co-Founder of the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship this summer! Excited to meet the full team, thank you again for the opportunity!

I'm extremely grateful to Tahara Dawkins for stepping up as the newest member of our all-volunteer Patti Grace Smith Fellowship executive team! Tahara has been a mentor and role model for many of our Fellows for several years now, and the response from our alumni community to the news of her new role has been electric. The work of the Fellowship feels more important than ever, as conversations about the future and even the present of the US aerospace workforce grow more and more fraught. Our program has a proven track record: we've been able to help 175 (and counting) hard-working Americans get their first opportunity to build their aerospace careers. We're finding students with incredible individual merit and aptitude, exceptional work ethics, and unwavering determination, and we're helping recruit them into the space sector. Often, we are finding them in places that others have overlooked. We're also helping preserve the legacy of Patti Grace Smith herself -- an excellent role model if ever there was one. With Tahara's help, we will continue to build on this foundation to do even more and better things. The present of our industry is a challenging one, but I remain full of hope. Adding Tahara to a PGSF team that has been stellar from day one makes the future seem even brighter to me. https://lnkd.in/gb6dAWd5

Aerospace engineering student Tatiyyanah Nelums ’25?has joined the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship, a program designed to support the careers of Black aerospace leaders. As part of the fellowship, Nelums will participate in a challenging summer aerospace internship at one of America’s leading aerospace companies. They will also receive a scholarship, personalized mentorship and access to a community of young Black professionals pursuing careers in aerospace.? Nelums conducts?research in computational fluid dynamics and aims to work in the commercial space sector. They?are the co-president of the Syracuse University branch of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and serve as the aerodynamics and propulsion lead for Syracuse’s AIAA Design/Build/Fly team.?As part of the fellowship, Nelums will be working at the research and development company Draper during the summer. #SyracuseU #STEM https://lnkd.in/eTgRNa_J

I’m thrilled to share that I’ll be a Master Moderator at the Space Foundation's #40thSpaceSymposium at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs alongside Hailu Daniel! A huge thank you to the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship Executive Board, the Space Foundation, and its Board of Directors for this incredible opportunity to contribute to such a prestigious event. This year’s theme, "Building Partnerships to Secure Our Future," emphasizes the critical role of collaboration in shaping the future of space exploration, reinforcing the event’s significance in advancing the global space community. The Space Symposium is widely recognized as the premier global program and policy conference for the space industry, bringing together top government officials, senior military and intelligence leaders, agency heads, and industry executives from around the world. It provides an unparalleled platform for discussion and innovation, with extensive media coverage and an expansive exhibit center showcasing cutting-edge space technologies. #40Space #SpaceFoundation #SpaceSymposium https://lnkd.in/gE82Whb4