Aerospace Engineering Major Gets Boost Toward Success From ARC Scholarship

Cory Hoit’s love of aerospace engineering started early, and it was the American Rocketry Challenge experience during his senior year of high school that ultimately helped land him at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University.

“Some of my friends had heard of the American Rocketry Challenge and so I decided to look into it,” said Cory (’27), now a freshman Aerospace Engineering major at the Daytona Beach Campus. “I had previously built and launched smaller scale model rockets for fun, but to have specific design requirements and objectives seemed challenging and interesting.” 

What is the American Rocketry Challenge?

Cory’s participation earned him a scholarship from the ARC, which gives nearly 5,000 high school students in the U.S. the chance to learn the basics of rocket flight by designing, building and launching model rockets.

The process, which leads to a nationwide competition, helps participants solidify their STEM skills, provides hands-on engineering experience and ultimately helps some of the students with their college tuition.

A native of Brighton, Colorado, Cory’s early interests aside from engineering included volunteering for the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies to help kids learn about the environment and the importance of conservation. 

He attended Erie High School, which offered an aerospace engineering program where students could take engineering classes throughout high school, capped off by a final class that involved them choosing an engineering competition to enter.

That’s where the ARC came in.

How Students Can Design, Build and Fly Rockets

“It was a unique experience for me,” Cory said. “It was the first time working in a group that involved hands-on design and was all led by students.”

Beyond exposing students to all aspects of rocket design and building, the ARC program is also geared toward creating a well-rounded experience that goes beyond engineering.

For Cory, this included learning about fundraising to help pay for the project and also exploring lean management principles such as Kanban, which was developed by an engineer at Toyota to improve manufacturing efficiency and gets its name from cards that tracked production.

There were other key lessons as well, Cory said.

“It taught me a lot about setting up a project timeline, overcoming unforeseen obstacles, such as losing half of a rocket, along with designing and creating actual parts,” he said. “It also taught the importance of being on a successful team that had good communication.”

Why Choose Embry‑Riddle for Aerospace Engineering?

That type of real-world experience helped pave Cory’s path to Embry‑Riddle, the world’s leading aviation and aerospace educator, which itself is renowned for giving students the key hands-on experience today’s top employers are seeking.

“I chose Embry‑Riddle for my degree because I have heard really good things about their aerospace engineering program, along with smaller class sizes and great professors,” he said. “They also offered Engineering Physics, which I was interested in.”

The ARC scholarship has helped Cory cope with some of the costs that come from investing in a great education.

“Finding additional money for my college experience allowed me to focus more on studying and academic work without worrying about trying to find a job,” he said.

As he gets ready for the second half of his first year at Embry‑Riddle, Cory already has his sights set on the future, and he’s primed for whatever comes next.

“My ultimate career goal is to get my bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and to pursue a position in the field,” he said. “Embry‑Riddle can help me with this goal because they offer an accelerated program in aerospace engineering in which I can get my master's degree.” 

What goals could you reach here? Apply at Embry‑Riddle today and find out.