Third-year Aerospace Engineering major and Honors Program student Nina Otebele was just named a Brooke Owens Fellow. The Fellowship is named after aerospace engineer and pilot Dawn Brooke Owens (1980 – 2017) and is designed to “serve both as an inspiration and as a career boost to capable young women and other gender minorities who, like Brooke, aspire to explore our sky and stars, to shake up the aerospace industry, and to help their fellow people here on planet Earth.” Like Owens, Otebele has a passion for space and aircraft and will work this summer on the Hardware Development team for Amazon Prime Air, designing hardware for Amazon's MK30 delivery drone. In addition to her passion for flight, she has also been influenced by her family in Nigeria and says that:
In Nigeria, I visited my grandfather's old home and community. Visiting my grandfather's community exposed me to the privileges of growing up in America and left me wondering what I could do to help. At the time, I felt as an aerospace engineer, there wasn’t much things spacecraft development could do to help communities like this. But my mindset changed when SpaceX launched their first Starlink satellites. I realized the benefit this array of satellites will have for remote communities which helped me see the positive impact aerospace engineering can have on rural and remote communities. This changed how I wanted to utilize aerospace engineering technology in my future career.
Otebele wrote about this experience in her Brooke Owens Fellowship application, in addition to demonstrating her creativity by creating a cookbook that highlighted different dishes and their significance in her life. The cookbook ranged from discussing her Nigerian heritage, interest in learning the Korean language, and the impact Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Japanese Club had on her (she transferred from Embry-Riddle to Georgia Tech).
On campus, Nina serves as an Aerospace Ambassador for the School of Aerospace Engineering, providing support with departmental tours and career fairs. She is also conducting research supervised by Dr. Rosario Gerhardt in the School of Materials Science and Engineering on composite materials for liquid rocket propulsion systems and nanotechnology. She also works in the High-Power Electric Propulsion Lab supporting the Janus project.
For fun and cultural engagement, Otebele is a member of the Samulnori (사물놀이) Club on campus and plays traditional Korean instruments. She has also found support through the Honors Program. She states that:
My first semester here as a transfer student was very challenging. However, I found comfort in Honors ENG 1102. The smaller class size made it easier to meet new people. In fact, I made my first friends in that class! I really enjoyed the projects we did. I felt free to express my creativity and escape from stressors outside of the class. One of my favorite projects from that class was the "Choose Your Own Project" where I chose to analyze the effectiveness of live action versus animated horror. I really like how supportive my professor was of my chosen project and the advice he gave me to help me develop it.
Otebele has big plans after graduation, just like the namesake of the fellowship she has won. She would like to become a researcher for an aerospace company, applying the technical skills she gains from her Amazon Prime Air internship as well as the leadership and teamwork skills she’ll build through mentorship and participation in the Brooke Owens summer conference.
We’re confident that she is going to achieve great things and congratulate her on being named a 2024 Brooke Owens Fellow. You can read more about Nina Otebele’s award on the College of Engineering website.