Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University sophomore Lillian Sudkamp has been selected from a pool of more than 1,000 applicants worldwide for the Brooke Owens Fellowship Class of 2022, an honor that includes an internship at a leading aerospace firm.

An Aerospace Engineering student at Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus, Sudkamp will intern at iridium, in McLean, Virginia. She was one of 51 students selected.

“So many of my fellow ‘Brookies’ are so impressive, and I am honored to be considered among them,” said Sudkamp, who currently works as the fabrication integrator on the EagleSat team, a student-run miniature satellite, or CubeSat, project funded by the NASA Space Grant Program. Previously, for her work as the Structures Team lead of EagleSat, she earned the Arizona Space Grant, and she is also a member of the Women’s Ambassadors Program and the Society of Women Engineers.

But her road to success hasn’t always been smooth.

“I have social anxiety, and it often held me back from potentially amazing experiences,” Sudkamp confessed. “It took years of actively challenging myself and forcing myself out of my comfort zone daily, even in small ways, to successfully give a presentation in class.”

Those self-imposed challenges included community service work. Sudkamp has volunteered at the Houston Zoo, the Debusk Enrichment Center for Academically Talented Scholars and other organizations — all activities which, over time, helped to build her confidence.

“Years ago, I would never have imagined I would end up a leader in clubs or the recipient of this award,” she said.

On-campus mentors, like Deanna Dempsey, associate director of Prestigious Awards and Fellowships, instantly recognized her potential, however. What Dempsey was especially impressed by was Sudkamp’s ability to align her passion for the environment with her passion for aerospace.

“Her goal is to lessen the aerospace industry's impact on the environment through minimizing the excess of waste materials,” Dempsey said. “I have no doubt that Lillian has the ability and work ethic to make an impact on the aerospace industry.”

The Brooke Owens Fellowship is a nonprofit that recognizes exceptional undergraduate women and other gender minorities with space and aviation internships, executive mentorship and a lifelong professional network. The 2022 cohort marks the sixth, and most competitive, class of Brookie fellows, each of whom were selected based on their records of leadership, community service work and a series of interviews.

“Aerospace is a challenging field with a global impact and an insatiable demand for talent, and these 51 students represent a vital influx of skill, creativity, passion and purpose,” said Emily Calandrelli, a science communicator, host of Netflix’s Emily’s Wonder Lab, and member of the Brooke Owens Fellowship executive team. “This year’s fellows represent more countries, races and ethnicities, and gender minorities than any previous class. We’re looking forward to watching them make their mark on the aerospace industry.”

Two Embry-Riddle students were also chosen last year as Brooke Owens Fellows.

Mechanical Engineering senior Shane Cullen poses in front of canyon.

Onward and Upward

Shane Cullen, a senior in Embry-Riddle’s Mechanical Engineering program, will also be heading to an internship — his at SpaceX — thanks to selection to the 2022 Class of the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship Program, another executive mentorship program designed to develop the next generation of commercial spaceflight leaders.

“This fellowship is an incredibly prestigious program that highlights some of the best students in the country,” Cullen said. “It will offer incredible connections as well as a mentor that will help me grow in this industry. Also, being at a company like SpaceX will open the door to future career pathways.”

Cullen will graduate this December after only three years of study. At Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus, he led the Rocket Development Lab as well as worked on the design, analysis and testing of liquid and solid propulsion systems. He is also a part of the Hot Nozzle Society, a community nonprofit focused on hobby rocketry. He has worked at Firefly Aerospace as a design intern, Agile Space Industries as a propulsion design and analysis intern, and Blue Origin as a propulsion test intern.

“I was drawn to Embry-Riddle for its aerospace program,” he added. “This university is really unique because it gives so much one-on-one time with professors and more opportunities to get hands-on experiences as an undergrad. These opportunities are what have allowed me to be a competitive candidate for programs like this.”

Cullen was one of 30 individuals selected from a pool of more than 200 applicants. After graduation, he hopes to land a job performing combustion, thermal and/or fluid analysis on rocket engines.