Chris Ellis
I am a husband and father of two wonderful children. I returned to school after two decades of aerospace machining to pursue an engineering degree. I graduated from Everett Community College and am starting at UW this coming fall as an Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering major.
While space flight was always something that sparked passion in me, I never felt like I had the ability to work as an engineer. Working for NASA was a pipedream. My high school offered classes in machining, and I learned I enjoy making things with my hands. I graduated from high school, and began working in a machine shop making avionics hardware.
After a career machining aircraft parts, I found myself in a manufacturing engineering role. It was here that I discovered my love of solving complex problems. In my late 30’s, I had found my path. I wanted to be an engineer. With the commercial spaceflight industry growing, I now had an opportunity to work on rocket engines.
While searching for a schedule that would allow me to pursue my education, I found a local spaceflight company that was hiring a weekend shift manufacturing engineer. This was a perfect opportunity to get my foot in the door in an industry I wanted to work in while pursuing my education. An application and brutal interview later, I found myself walking up on a build stand one day to marvel at an orbital class rocket engine. This was my opportunity to help propel humanity into the stars.
As the sole provider for my family, applying for The Martin Honors Scholarship was a no brainer. It is important that my family does not suffer as I pursue my education. Not having to worry about what I can and can’t afford allows me to focus on the things that matter; my family, my academics, and my career.
Goals
In the near term, I plan to focus on finishing my bachelor’s degree while pursuing departmental honors. While in school, I will also continue to build my career and reputation so that I can achieve my long-term goals of transitioning to a design engineer role. I want to contribute to the design of the next generation of rocket engines and help propel humanity into the stars.
Tips
Take the time to reflect on who you are and your academic goals. Ask yourself how your goals are going to benefit not just the future you, but humanity at large? Can you articulate these goals clearly and concisely? This will give you everything you need for your essays. Utilize your available resources to write clearly and concisely. These essays are a lot of work. Ensure you give yourself enough time to not just complete them but have them reviewed by multiple sources. Your peers, your college’s writing center, and your favorite instructors are all great resources. Remember that you’re always networking. Having solid letters of recommendation are critical, and you won’t get good recommendations unless you put your best foot forward every day. Show kindness and work hard daily. Help your peers be successful and lift up those around you. Reflect on how your actions will make it easy for your favorite professors to write you a glowing recommendation.
