Life as a “Brookie”

LIFE AS A"BROOKIE"

By Jamie HelanderHello readers!

I am very excited to tell you about the amazing Brooke Owens Fellowship (BOF)! Created to honor the legacy of a beloved space industry pioneer and accomplished pilot, Dawn Brooke Owens (1980 – 2016), the Brooke Owens Fellowship is designed to serve both as an inspiration and as a career boost to capable young women who, like Brooke, aspire to explore our sky and stars, to shake up the aerospace industry, and to help their fellow men and women here on planet Earth. This is done by matching thirty-six extraordinary women per year with purpose-driven, paid internships at leading aviation and space companies and organizations and with senior and executive level mentors.

I was lucky and humbled to be accepted as a “Brookie” into the Class of 2018. The BOF completely changed my life for the better – it strengthened my passion for aviation and aerospace, introduced me to a huge group of new friends, and gave me a great resume builder with top industry connections! In May, I uprooted and moved nearly 2,800 miles away to begin my summer in sunny San Carlos, California.

As a Brooke Owens Fellow, I interned for one of Silicon Valley’s top venture capital firms, JetBlue Technology Ventures (JTV), and the famous Hiller Aviation Museum near San Francisco, CA. At JTV, I focused on community service by developing the foundation for a nationally-recognized Girl Scouts of USA Aviation Badge. I wrote age-appropriate curriculum, forged

partnerships with the Girl Scouts of Northern California (GSNORCAL) Council and many industry companies/ organizations, solicited Letters of Support from over 100 aviation/aerospace museums, universities with aviation departments, companies, and organizations, and presented the project to GSNORCAL’s CEO and STEM staff. The other half of my internship consisted of developing, designing, producing, and directing a series of promotional and educational YouTube videos for the Hiller Aviation Museum. The series was titled “Heads Up @ Hiller!” and featured some of the coolest exhibits and attractions at Hiller! I had two jam-packed summer jobs filled with new experiences, explorations, sightseeing, fabulous life-long friendships, enhanced job skills, lots of airplanes, and traveling!

On top of all of that, for 5 days in July, all the 2018 Brookies, the Fellowship Founders, mentors, supporters, etc. gathered in Washington, DC for the “Summit.” It was an amazing experience filled with guest appearances by astronauts and top aerospace industry leaders, a team-based Grand Challenge competition, private tours of the Lockheed Martin Space Experience Center and National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center, one-on-one mentoring sessions, friendship building with the other Brookies, and so much more!

Applications for the Class of 2019 are now being accepted! This is not too good to be true! Visit: http://www.brookeowensfellowship.org/ for more information – applications are due November 6, 2018. Check out the Brooke Owens Fellowship Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube pages, too!