Alexandria Rhoads, a third-year aerospace engineering student and Schreyer Scholar at Penn State, has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Brooke Owens Fellowship—one of just 44 student leaders selected from more than 400 applicants nationwide. This summer, she will intern with Airbus U.S. Space and Defense, contributing to the design of innovative spacecraft and satellite technologies. Rhoads’ path to this opportunity began in high school through the inaugural Summer Discovery program at the Readiness Institute at Penn State. There, she connected with Emma Hance, senior program manager at the Readiness Institute, who introduced her to the fellowship and encouraged her to apply. “I’m proud of her courage to pursue something new and her willingness to inspire others to do the same,” said Hance. She encourages her peers to take chances: “If you see something and think, ‘That looks cool,’ just go for it. You never know what could happen.” Her story highlights the Readiness Institute’s tran...