About Me
My fascination with engineering began in childhood, during countless nineteen-hour flights from the United States to India. Each goodbye to my family left me in tears, but those journeys also gave me perspective. They showed me that despite vast distances, engineering made it possible to see my grandmother and cousins after only a day of travel. The engineers who built those aircraft brought my family closer through their craft. That realization deepened years later when, at sixteen, I saw the first image of a black hole. Decades earlier, Einstein and Hawking had predicted black holes in their theories. Yet, as Ernest Lawrence remarked in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, “theory will only get you so far.” It was engineering that enabled scientists to capture that image, and engineering again that allowed it to be shared with the world. These moments sparked a profound curiosity about how things work and how to build them. They made me realize I was meant to be an engineer.
But an engineer of what, exactly? Growing up near the water, I first imagined building submarines and machines to explore the ocean. That changed when friends of my parents gave me a book about the universe. Its dazzling images of planets, moons, galaxies, and nebulae pulled me away from the blue depths below and toward the vast expanse above: space. I dove into space exploration by devouring books, binging YouTube documentaries, and keeping up with the latest missions online. These breathtaking visuals were made possible by satellites, rockets, infrared cameras, and countless other technologies created by human hands. Beyond the stars, space exploration has given rise to innovations that transformed life on Earth, including GPS navigation, satellite communications, memory foam, scratch-resistant lenses, water filtration systems, freeze-dried food, cordless tools, and advanced medical imaging. These technologies proved to me that engineering for space does not only take us upward, it pushes humanity forward in every direction.
In my early research, I noticed something else: satellites were not only exploring space but also monitoring Earth, tracking deforestation, climate change, and humanity’s impact on the planet. That struck me deeply as someone who cherishes the natural world. During my time at UCF, I learned to surf at Cocoa Beach and earned my open-water scuba license in Florida’s springs. While interning at NASA Ames in San Francisco during the fall of 2024, I spent weekends exploring the landscapes of California and Nevada with fellow interns. I cannot, or rather do not want to, imagine an Earth stripped of its natural beauty by human actions.
This is why I connect so strongly with Blue Origin’s mission. Space is beautiful and mysterious, and unlocking its secrets will undoubtedly benefit humanity. But we must also protect our pale blue dot. Space should serve as a platform from which we develop technologies that both safeguard our planet and advance civilization. Among commercial space companies, Blue Origin embodies this vision most clearly, and that is why I believe it is the place for me.
