Shane Cullen, a senior in Embry-Riddle’s Mechanical Engineering program, will also be heading to an internship — his at SpaceX — thanks to selection to the 2022 Class of the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship Program, another executive mentorship program designed to develop the next generation of commercial spaceflight leaders.
“This fellowship is an incredibly prestigious program that highlights some of the best students in the country,” Cullen said. “It will offer incredible connections as well as a mentor that will help me grow in this industry. Also, being at a company like SpaceX will open the door to future career pathways.”
Cullen will graduate this December after only three years of study. At Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus, he led the Rocket Development Lab as well as worked on the design, analysis and testing of liquid and solid propulsion systems. He is also a part of the Hot Nozzle Society, a community nonprofit focused on hobby rocketry. He has worked at Firefly Aerospace as a design intern, Agile Space Industries as a propulsion design and analysis intern, and Blue Origin as a propulsion test intern.
“I was drawn to Embry-Riddle for its aerospace program,” he added. “This university is really unique because it gives so much one-on-one time with professors and more opportunities to get hands-on experiences as an undergrad. These opportunities are what have allowed me to be a competitive candidate for programs like this.”
Cullen was one of 30 individuals selected from a pool of more than 200 applicants. After graduation, he hopes to land a job performing combustion, thermal and/or fluid analysis on rocket engines.