Engineering junior Jayden Warren earns Patti Grace Smith Fellowship

Jayden Warren has always gravitated toward math and science, but it was a middle school project that piqued his interest in the field of aerospace engineering. His love for all things space skyrocketed from that point.

Warren, a Virginia Tech junior studying aerospace engineering, was recently selected as part of the fourth class of Patti Grace Smith Fellows. The prestigious fellowship program connects leading aerospace companies with talented Black students seeking to enter the aerospace industry. 

Warren, who comes from Orange County, Virginia, is the first Virginia Tech student to be awarded this fellowship. 

Building communities of Black leaders in aerospace

Established in 2020, the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship endeavors to help resolve the underrepresentation of Black and African American employees in the U.S. aerospace workforce. The program’s name was chosen to honor a beloved aerospace industry leader who overcame a system of legalized racial segregation.

As a young girl in 1963, Patti Grace Smith — then Patricia Jones — was one of a dozen Black students to integrate into Tuskegee High School and was a plaintiff in a landmark case that integrated the public schools in Alabama as upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. Her illustrious career was highlighted by her role leading the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation in the early days of the nation’s commercial space renaissance, and the fellowship serves to carry out her legacy.

The Class of 2024 Patti Grace Smith Fellows hail from 17 colleges and universities across 13 states and Puerto Rico. Each student has earned a challenging summer aerospace internship, a grant to help with educational expenses, a pair of personalized mentors, and access to a network of Black peers, colleagues, friends, and role models. 

“This is a huge opportunity for me because it's going to expand my network greatly,” said Warren. “Not only does the fellowship program offer me an internship experience, but it also provides a community where you can go to connect and have a common experience with everyone. There's a wide range of opportunities that I can dive into just from being a part of this program.” 

For his summer internship, Warren has been paired with Astroscale, a Denver startup focused on development of on-orbit servicing, which is the refueling and repairing of space satellites while in orbit. The company also prioritizes creating sustainable space systems and mitigating the growing and hazardous buildup of debris in space. 

Another benefit of the fellowship program? Warren has been paired with two mentors: one at the very pinnacle of the aerospace industry and another who is just starting on their career journey. Later this summer, all of the fellows are invited to a three-day summit in Washington, D.C., to meet their mentors and network with their community of peers and leaders in industry. 

Supportive communities uplifting students

Coincidentally, it was his participation in a small, close-knit Virginia Tech community that led Warren to apply for the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship program. He learned of the fellowship opportunity through his participation in the A. James Clark Scholars Program.

A member of the 2021 cohort of Clark Scholars, Warren has been able to volunteer in community service activities, take part in enrichment seminars and events with professional leaders, and benefit from a community of engineering peers.

“Not only have I seen Jayden pour his determination into his academics, but he has also shown initiative and dedication in his aerospace career by gaining practical experience through internships and research experiences,” said Christina Martin, assistant director of student programs for the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity. “As a Clark Scholar, he has also been dedicated to the cohort and in helping his fellow scholars. Despite the heavy load of courses, Jayden makes time in his busy schedule for professional development, networking, and social activities.”

Within the Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Warren is taking courses in the space vehicle and system dynamics track. He has been a past member of the student design teams RockSat-X and Design, Build, Fly, and is an active member of the National Society of Black Engineers. 

After graduation, Warren hopes to gain a few years of experience in industry before beginning to work on his master's in business administration.

“I am interested in working on my MBA because I enjoy the networking and connections that come with that side of the business," said Warren. "I am always open to broadening my horizons.”