Sydney Bonbrest took her skills outside of the classroom in her first aerospace engineering internship and left with a new understanding of the industry.

Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University senior Sydney Bonbrest (’23) is studying Aerospace Engineering on the Astronautics track. This past summer, she was selected to be an Aerospace Intern with Trusted Space, where she learned both valuable aerospace industry skills and career skills.

Internship with Trusted Space

Sydney’s remote internship with Trusted Space started with a crash course in Python, a coding language used widely in the aerospace industry. She was excited to be working for a smaller company and gaining real-world experience in the industry, separate from a school environment.

“Our first half of the internship included comparing an internally developed estimation filter with an Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF),” Sydney stated. To do this, she and other interns created code to transfer raw data from NASA into spreadsheets with clean, usable information.

What is an Unscented Kalman Filter?

“An Unscented Kalman Filter, the most common estimation filter, is a perfected method of estimation. It uses a specific set of points to approximate an object’s transformation,” she explained. “When dealing with space, these specific points are taken from a sensor; some examples being ground stations, GPS or radio signals.”

During the second half of her internship, Sydney was “researching initial orbit determination methods along with the circular restricted three-body problem; more specifically, how the two topics can be used together to solve the two-body restriction on initial orbit determination approaches.”

She explained that the problem of studying three-body dynamics is industry-wide, as there are no established methods to do so, unlike measuring two-body dynamics, some methods of which even date back to Isaac Newton’s time.

“Topics I had come into this experience unfamiliar with are now subjects I know about without a second thought,” Sydney said, reflecting on her experience.

Support from Embry‑Riddle Lacrosse

Sydney grew up surrounded by family in a small town in Maryland, and that gave her the confidence to go somewhere far away for college. She’s played lacrosse since she was a kid, and she was at a lacrosse tournament when she first learned about Embry‑Riddle. After looking into programs and seeing Aerospace Engineering, she knew she was interested. After a tour of the Daytona Beach Campus and a lacrosse camp, she was sold on the university.

“Embry‑Riddle had the perfect balance between athletics and academics,” Sydney said. “I could get an engineering degree from an amazing program while also being a member of a highly competitive lacrosse team.”

Sydney spent four years on Embry‑Riddle’s women’s lacrosse team, playing her last season in the spring 2023 semester. She cites the experience as being beneficial to her overall time at Embry‑Riddle. Her teammates became her support system at school, offering homework help and friendship during the ups and downs.

“[My teammates were] the only constant through all of it. They definitely made me feel much better during that time,” she said. “I had resources that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

Finding the Right Place for You

Sydney’s main piece of advice for future students seeking out internships and employment is to “never count anybody out.” Many students dream of working for the big companies in the aerospace industry, but small companies also offer unforgettable opportunities and experiences.

“Having a direct line of communication with the founders of Trusted Space is just one of the advantages of working at a smaller company that I have learned to love,” she added.

Sydney also discovered the importance of having a good work-life balance and how important it is to find a company that aligns with your expectations. 

“Hearing stories about aerospace engineering jobs it made me begin to believe this industry was extremely demanding, with a positive work-life balance not being a possibility,” she expressed. “However, the fact of the matter is that’s only true if you do not investigate other companies hard enough. There will be a company out there for you that has the same values as you.”

Luckily for Sydney, she found that work-life balance and she has accepted an offer to work with Trusted Space as a Junior Aerospace Engineer after she graduates in December.

Are you interested in the opportunities aerospace engineering can bring? Apply to Embry‑Riddle today!

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