Astronomy and Astrophysics Student Finds Community and Opportunity at ERAU
Makenna Pringle
Rhiannon Hicks (’24) is completing her final year in the Astronomy and Astrophysics undergraduate program at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University. Throughout her time at Embry‑Riddle, she’s had unparalleled opportunities to participate in a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), complete a prestigious internship and get involved in the causes on campus that mean the most to her.
Research Experience for Undergraduates with the National Science Foundation
The summer after her sophomore year at Embry‑Riddle, Hicks was encouraged to participate in an REU Site at Embry‑Riddle by one of her professors, who was heading the program. An REU Site, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), refers to the institution hosting the REU and consists of about ten students working within the program.
The title of Hicks’ REU was Data-Enabled Industrial Mathematics, dealing with machine learning and, more specifically, neural network codes.
“We worked on making a neural network and then trying to quantify the uncertainty in the network because that's one of the main areas of research for neural networks that's being done,” Hicks said. “It was a very cool experience. I got a lot of coding and professional experience; we made a presentation that we did at the Student Research Symposium.”
Hicks gives this experience credit for helping her land her next experience as well: an internship at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.
An Internship at Johns Hopkins
Working as an Information Processing Intern at Johns Hopkins was what Hicks called “one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had in my life.”
Hicks shared that she wasn’t sure what to expect going into the internship, since most activities within the lab require a certain level of security clearance.
“I was working on hypersonic missile defense algorithms. I never thought that with an astronomy degree I would be able to do something with missiles, and I didn't know if I would be interested in missiles, but it ended up being such a great experience,” she remembered. “The lab is amazing; it was an amazing place to work. It honestly felt like I was at a mini college there."
Hicks worked closely with a mentor in her internship and presented her work to other interns and supervisors alike. Once her time there ended, she was invited to come back for next year’s internship.
“I loved working at a place where I actually felt like I was making a difference. You're working with the government on a lot of projects there, and I felt like my work mattered,” she shared. “Not every internship has that experience, where you go and feel like you've accomplished something. On the project I got to work on, I had tangible information to present and now it will be used by other groups and more. It was just really cool to have that and feel like I was helping the greater good.”
Involvement On Campus
Hicks’ dedication to learning and growing doesn’t stop at her professional endeavors. She also dedicates much of her time on Embry‑Riddle's Daytona Beach Campus to promoting the comfort, success and well-being of other students.
Hicks has been involved in New Student Orientation since her second semester on campus, and this year stepped into the role of Orientation Team Captain.
“It went super well this year; we got a lot of good feedback. The position was me and the other orientation team captain leading the leadership team and the full orientation team that consists of 50 or 60 people,” she said. “We run trainings in the spring, then summer orientations, then our big events are our team retreat and then fall orientation directly after... It's very cool to see the team in action. My role was a bit more behind the scenes, making sure everything ran smoothly.”
On top of her orientation involvement, Hicks is involved in the Center for Faith and Spirituality in the University 195A course, offered to students who want to grow valuable soft skills, as the Lead Peer Mentor and in the Servant Leadership Program as a fellow.
“It's a really cool program that I've really enjoyed getting to be a bigger part of,” she said about her work in the Servant Leadership Program. “We have five total meetings this semester where we get together with everyone and have dinner. That's a big thing that we do - we try to provide food at our events, which I think is really cool. We tend to cook the food and it's a fun experience. When we have dinner, we go over what servant leadership means, how we can improve our self-awareness, listening and leadership skills in general.”
Hicks cites her favorite part of working in the Center for Faith and Spirituality as the opportunities it provides her to meet and impact new people.
Inspiration and Motivation
When asked what advice she gives to new students trying to find their way, Hicks had some words of wisdom to offer.
“My first one's very, very basic, but ‘check your email’ is the one thing that I tell any freshman student who asks what they should do to stay on top of stuff. I swear, I have gotten so many opportunities sent to me through my Embry‑Riddle email; it's just a matter of checking in and keeping an eye on it,” she said. “But just in general, I would say don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. I think that was hard for me and it's hard for everyone in their own way. Whether you're an introvert or an extrovert, it's still a challenge.”
She continued, sharing just how getting out of her comfort zone pushed her to grow and evolve.
“One of the things that I love about Embry‑Riddle is how much I've been involved and had the opportunity to get involved with so many different organizations across campus...” she shared. “I never would've got here if I didn't put myself out there, get out of my comfort zone, talk to people and take every opportunity that I was given.”