A TSGC Design Challenge participant has been selected as one of three Texas undergrads to enter the 2025 Brooke Owens Fellowship Class. Cat-Linh Tran, a senior Mechanical Engineering major from Rice University and a member of Rice’s Artemis Owls Design Challenge Team, is one of 44 undergrads chosen for the highly competitive fellowship. In addition to Tran, two undergrads from TSGC educational affiliates were also selected to be Brooke Owens Fellows: Heavyn Porter from The University of Texas at Austin and Montserrat Hernandez from the University of Texas El Paso.

The Brooke Owens Fellowship is a nationally acclaimed program that aims to recognize exceptional undergraduates in space and aviation. Fellows are matched with an executive-level mentor in the aerospace industry who will support and work with the Fellows to help launch their careers.

Cat-Linh Tran, Mechanical Engineering Senior, Rice University

I will be interning at SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA.

Watching SpaceX’s Demo-2 mission as a high schooler with my dad and brother during quarantine in 2020 is what sparked my interest in engineering and aerospace. I didn’t have a conventional background coming into engineering since I grew up as a musician, but the idea of living in the next era of human spaceflight was really exciting to me. 

I’m excited to work hands-on with cutting-edge technology and apply what I learned from my previous internship and projects. I got to tour the facility in 2023 so this will be a full-circle moment for me.

As of right now, I’m not narrowed in on a certain dream role since I’m open to trying out different experiences early in my career, but my senior design team’s project (shoutout Artemis Owls) with the TSGC Design Challenge has made me interested in human factors engineering. Human factors is a very unique but crucial field in the aerospace and aviation industry, and I think it’s an interesting challenge I’d like to explore in the future! 

Heavyn Porter, Aerospace Engineering Junior, The University of Texas at Austin

I’m thrilled to be joining SES Space & Defense as a summer intern in Washington, D.C.! Throughout the interview process, they left a strong impression on me, and I’m eager to dive in, contribute, and expand my skills alongside their team.

People often ask me why, and truthfully, I’ve never seen aerospace as just my major- it’s really a fundamental part of how I see and interact with the world. Long before I ever considered college majors, I was captivated by the mechanics of flight, the creativity and imagination of design, and the challenge of innovation. This field isn’t something I simply selected from a list of options; it’s been an intrinsic part of my curiosity and passion for as long as I can remember. Nearly every step I’ve taken in life thus far has been for this.

This internship is an incredible opportunity to gain experience while obtaining a broader perspective on the aerospace industry as a whole. It’s a chance to immerse myself in the field, understand where the industry stands today, and discover where my skills and passions align best within it. I’m eager to explore the different paths I could take and gain clarity on how I can contribute meaningfully to the future of aerospace.

Although I haven’t pinpointed a specific job title I’m focused on yet, I have a strong interest in design and really enjoy working with CAD technology. I also tend to take particular interest in aspects of human and deep space exploration, such as habitation, EVA technology and vehicles, rovers, etc. No matter where my path leads, as long as I’m creating and innovating, I’ll find fulfillment.

Montserrat Hernandez, Mechanical Engineering Senior, The University of Texas at El Paso

I am thrilled to share that I have been matched with Blue Origin at their Van Horn Launch Site 1 location for my Brooke Owens Fellowship internship! This site is home to incredible work such as launching the New Shepard rocket, which carries astronauts and payloads to space, testing cutting-edge rocket engines like the BE-4, recently used in their New Glenn launch, and even training astronauts at their state-of-the-art facilities. As a Structural and Mechanical Engineering Intern, I’ll have the opportunity to contribute to exciting projects that play a vital role in advancing space exploration. I am so grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait to learn from the talented team at Blue Origin while applying my skills to such meaningful and impactful work

From a young age, I’ve been fascinated by problem-solving and the challenge of developing innovative technologies to tackle some of the world’s most complex issues. My passion for engineering was then solidified in high school through the Chapin Engineering Magnet Program, where I discovered the versatility of mechanical engineering and its broad foundation across multiple disciplines. Currently, I have the privilege of working as an Undergraduate Research Assistant at the UTEP Aerospace Center, where I’ve contributed to impactful projects such as the NASA Lunar Surface Technology Research and the AFRL High-Speed Air Vehicle Thermal Management Research. These experiences at the UTEP Aerospace Center have been instrumental in shaping my career and opening doors to incredible opportunities, including a NASA Pathways CLPS Internship with Firefly Aerospace, where I worked on lunar lander projects, and my selection as a Brooke Owens Fellow.