AOE Ambassadors
FA 2021 Open House - AOE Ambassadors
Who are the AOE Ambassadors?
The AOE Ambassadors are ethusiastic and motivated students who enjoy talking to prospective students about opportunities in the Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace & Ocean Engineering. AOE Ambassadors assist the department with recruitment events for prospective undergraduate students. Some activities that AOE Ambassadors are involved with include:
- Engineering showcases for the Fall & Spring Admissions Open House events
- The Spring College of Engineering Open House showcase
- Leading tours of the AOE Department for prospective students and their families
- The Fall COE Welcome Event for incoming first-year and transfer students
Visiting the AOE Undergraduate Program
During the fall and spring semesters, student AOE Ambassadors lead tours of the department on most Mondays & Fridays. Tours provide an overview of the department and introduce prospective AOE students to points of interest around campus. Please contact Emily Metzgar if you have questions about visiting during the summer or require additional information.
To register for an AOE tour, first click here to see what dates are available to register for events. Click on a specific calendar date to see if an AOE tour is being offered. If a tour is available, fill out the registration form to sign up.
Prospective AOE students may also explore points of interest around campus on a self-guided tour.
Meet the AOE Ambassadors!
Neha Chinthapatla (Co-Lead)
Major: Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2023
Minor: Mathematics
Hometown: South Riding, Virginia
Professional/Student Organizations: Rocketry at Virginia Tech, AIAA
Internships: Lockheed Martin Skunk Works
Favorite thing about major: I get to work on things that I dreamed about as a child.
Advice: Get involved with something whether that's a club, research, or a design team.
Nathan Schneider (Co-Lead)
Major: Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2023
Minor: Organizational Leadership
Hometown: Swansboro, North Carolina
Favorite thing about VT: The friends and relationships that I've made while at VT.
Favorite thing about major: The unique technical electives available through AOE, ranging from structures to orbital determination and GPS design.
Matt Brown
Major: Ocean Engineering, Class of 2023
Hometown: Vienna, Virginia
Minor: Naval Engineering
Professional/Student Organizations: SNAME/ASNE at Virginia Tech, SailBOT
Internships: General Dynamics: Electric Boat, NSWC Carderock
Favorite thing about VT: It's hard to pick a single thing! I love the inherent school spirit, it's almost infectious (in a good way). Whenever you're away from Blacksburg, Hokies always seem to find each other and connect.
Fun Fact: I am on the Club Jump Rope Team at Virginia Tech, and placed first in a National Competition
Patrick Corrigan
Major: Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2024
Minors: Leadership - Corps of Cadets, Mathematics
Hometown: McLean, Virginia
Professional/Student Organizations: Hokie Ambassadors, VT Corps of Cadets, Air Force ROTC, Highty Tighties, VT Math Tutoring Lab, AIAA, Nonlinear Systems Lab
Internships: CACI Trajectory Software Engineer at Vandenberg SFB
Favorite thing about VT: Doing push-ups in the stands with the Corps after every touchdown
Fun fact: I plan on commissioning as a Flight Test Engineer in the USAF after pursuing a masters degree in the Nonlinear Systems Laboratory
Emily Davis
Major: Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2023
Hometown: Fairfax, Virginia
Professional/Student Organizations: AIAA, Society of Women Engineers (SWE), SFTE, HAC, Swim Club at VT
Internships: NASA Ames Research Center, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics AMMM, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Skunk Works
Favorite thing about VT: The Hokie Bird and Derek the therapy dog
Fun fact: I am a nationally ranked college club swimmer!
Kimberly Elias Castellanos
Major: Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2023
Hometown: Manassas, Virginia
Minor: Mathematics
Professional/Student Organizations: NASA L'SPACE, Blacksburg Blades
Favorite thing about VT: The football games and hokie spirit!
Advice: Say yes to as many things as you can and make memories you can look back on with a smile.
Chenming Fan
Major: Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2024
Hometown: Fairfax, Virginia
Minor: Computer Science, Mathematics
Professional/Student Organizations: Student Engineers' Council, Rocketry at Virginia Tech, NASA Student Launch Initiative
Internships: ispace inc.
Favorite thing about VT: Afternoons on the Drillfield
Advice: Be involved, be humble, and be resilient!
Madeline Hower
Majors: Ocean Engineering/Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2023
Minors: Naval Engineering, Mathematics
Hometown: Williamsburg, Virginia
Professional/Student Organizations: AIAA, ANSE, SWE, Sigma Gamma Tau, Drone Racing Team at VT, Marching Virginians
Internships: Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, VT Drone Park
Advice: Be open to pursuing any path and make lots of friends in your major to work with you on assignments.
Kody Jones
Major: Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2023
Hometown: Fort Chiswell, Virginia
Professional/Student Organizations: NASA Student Launch Initiative
Favorite thing about major: The faculty and staff.
Advice: Make friend groups early on, they are your best resource for the next four years.
Fun Fact: I have logged around 50 flight hours and will take my checkride for my Private Pilot certificate within the next few weeks.
Molly Kamide
Major: Aerospace Engineering (BS '21, MS '22), PhD Class of 2025
Hometown: Ephrata, Pennsylvania
Professional/Student Organizations: Society of Flight Test Engineers
Internships: Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island
Research: My PhD research is determining the characteristics of large scale blasts at the Virginia Tech Shock Tube Research Facility.
Cason Kerrick
Major: Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2023
Minor: Mathematics
Hometown: Williamsburg, Virginia
Professional/Student Organizations: The Drone Racing Team, Triangle Fraternity
Internships: Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, VT Drone Park
Favorite thing about VT: My favorite thing is that we are at a school where most of the professors deeply love what they are teaching.
Fun Fact: I hope in the future to make travel safer and more sustainable with drone technology.
Cody Knott
Major: Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2023
Hometown: Roanoke, Virginia
Professional/Student Organizations: NASA Student Launch Initiative, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Club, IEEE
Favorite thing about major: We get to actively work towards making humanity a spacefaring civilization.
Fun facts: I'm a transfer student from Virginia Western Community College. I was training to be a ballroom dance instructor before studying Aerospace Engineering.
Carly Krokosz
Major: Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2024
Hometown: Wall Township, New Jersey
Professional/Student Organizations: Orbital Launch Vehicle Team at Virginia Tech
Internships: Safran Aerosystems
Favorite thing about VT: Blacksburg, and hearing the Burruss bells on the Drillfield.
Advice: Never be afraid to ask for help!
Olivia Napier
Major: Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2023
Hometown: Springfield, Virginia
Professional/Student Organizations: Sigma Gamma Tau, Tau Beta Pi, NASA Student Launch Initiative, Hume Center's National Security Education Program (NSEP)
Internships: Boeing Test & Evaluation Engineer
Favorite thing about VT: Enter Sandman in Lane Stadium
Paul Reiter
Majors: Aerospace Engineering/Chemistry, Class of 2024
Minor: Mathematics
Hometown: East Northport, New York
Professional/Student Organizations: Alpha Phi Omega National Co-Ed Service Fraternity, Sigma Gamma Tau
Favorite thing about VT: Spending gamedays with friends
Favorite thing about majors: All of the amazing professors who are super helpful!
William Suffa
Major: Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2023
Hometown: Glen Allen, Virginia
Minor: Computer Science, Mathematics
Professional/Student Organizations: Alpha Phi Omega, Inspirefly, Sports Business Club
Favorite thing about VT: The atmosphere. The people that go to Virginia Tech are people that you want to be around.
Advice: Learn time management!! It will make your life easier. Its also ok to fail, failing is part of the journey, its how you recover that makes it important.
Eszter Varga
Major: Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2023
Hometown: Budapest, Hungary
Professional/Student Organizations: AIAA, Sigma Gamma Tau, Aerospace Minority Program (AMP), Society of Women in Aviation and Space Exploration (SWASE)
Internships: GE, Wisk
Advice: Engineering is a team sport. Ask yourself often, what is your end goal with getting a degree?
Fun Fact: Will be most likely the first Hungarian Female Aerospace Engineer
Holly Whetzel
Major: Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2024
Hometown: Culpeper, Virginia
Minor: Mathematics
Internships: Toffler Associates
Favorite thing about VT: One of my favorite things about Virginia Tech is the amount of people here that are willing to help you with just about anything.
Advice: Step outside of the box and try something new!