Stitt Family Aeronautics & Aerospace Scholarship

My name is Delaney Montoya, and I grew up in New Mexico, where I was raised by a single mother who worked tirelessly to provide for me and my sisters. Despite her long days at work, she was determined to pursue her master’s degree in engineering, which showed me firsthand the importance of hard work and dedication in the face of challenges. Her example taught me that no matter the obstacles, with perseverance, it is possible to achieve your goals. Inspired by her, I’ve worked diligently in school with the ambition of studying Aerospace Engineering. Currently, I am a second-year student at San Jose State University, pursuing a degree in this field. My passion for space exploration has always driven me to want to contribute to expanding humanity’s understanding of the universe. Using engineering to create technology that can expand our knowledge. Ultimately, I aim to become an astronaut—helping push the boundaries of space exploration and contributing to the groundbreaking discoveries. However, my journey has not been without its financial challenges. Growing up, my family faced many economic struggles, and as a student now, I continue to encounter financial barriers that make it difficult to fully pursue my goals. While I am currently working as a nanny to help cover my housing and living expenses, I find it difficult to balance a part-time job with my rigorous academic schedule. Other part-time jobs can not be as flexible to a college schedule. As a result, much of my earnings go toward basic needs, leaving little room to invest in the next steps I need to take to reach my dream, such as funding flight school and continuing my education. Despite these challenges, I remain committed to my goals and determined to overcome the financial hurdles in my path. I believe that the hard work and resilience I’ve learned from my mother and from my own experiences will guide me through these obstacles. I am passionate about being part of the aerospace industry—developing the tools for space exploration and ultimately becoming a pilot of spacecraft. I am highly motivated and eager to reach my goals. These financial struggles are just temporary roadblocks, and I am determined not to let them stand in the way of my dreams. My ultimate goal is to not only be part of the aerospace community but to lead the way in space exploration and technology. While the financial challenges are significant, I view them as temporary setbacks on the path to something greater. With additional financial support, I would be able to invest in critical experiences, such as flight school, that will help me build the necessary skills to become an astronaut. I also hope to continue my education without the constant pressure of financial strain, allowing me to focus more on my studies and research projects. With the right support, I know I can overcome these obstacles and take the necessary steps to make my dream a reality. Thank you for your consideration!

(Note: This document has been submitted with proper paragraphing! If it does not appear as such, I am happy to provide a PDF for improved legibility.) As I noted in my prior year finalist submission: Contributing to one of humanity's greatest accomplishments—the exploration of our universe and Earth—has been my lifetime dream. Being one of the "small steps for mankind" would be an honor. Each new discovery about our universe is an opportunity for growth as humans: new scientific understanding of our universe; allowing a deeper consideration of our place in the universe, and in appreciating the fragility of our planet. Beyond looking outward, aerospace engineering allows us to examine Earth —satellites to monitor our ecology; missions of peace to detect conflict and weapons and other vital services. We are in an exciting age of aerospace exploration on multiple fronts, and my hope is to make a meaningful contribution to the field, for betterment of humanity. I have been fortunate to have the support of great parents, teachers, and engineering coaches, and I am grateful to be a student at California Polytechnic. As a sophomore, I have participated in many labs as well as our rocketry club constructing models for flight. In addition, part of my collegiate experience is volunteering as a mentor for my former robotics team. assisting in evaluating designs and providing remote training with CAD. Getting to this point was not easy—my high school years saw my parents suffer significant health and financial challenges, which continue to this day. My mother faced life-threatening health issues forcing her into medical retirement, while my father lost his job during the 2020 pandemic, never regaining employment. Despite these hardships, my parents encourage me to keep faith and to excel academically, leading me to achieve my goal of attending CalPoly. As their financial situation deteriorated, in 2024 they made the difficult decision to sell their home and relocate out of state, while taking in my grandmother to conserve funds. Their current ability to support me financially is even more diminished. Nevertheless, I have been fortunate in many ways, as I am receiving an excellent college education at a great state university. While I do receive federal and state support, including the maximum Pell Grant, these mostly only cover direct educational expenses. Reality is that I must be as self-sufficient as possible by seeking scholarships and grants, as well as through my own earnings. This academic year, I was fortunate to obtain an on-campus job to help with expenses. Of course, I must maintain a balance between working and study hours to uphold my academic credentials and membership in the Honor Society. To further my goal of contributing to my own success, I have been actively pursuing summer internship opportunities. While the most important factor will be finding an opportunity that will increase my knowledge and skills, it also will help if it includes a stipend to provide that additional financial support. I’ve read several articles on the amazing life achievements of Ms. Iris Cummings Critchell. All of us seeking to be in the astronautic and aeronautic fields are in her debt, and this scholarship is an amazing gift to the students she will inspire long into the future. I am grateful to have been selected last year as a finalist for this scholarship, and would be most honored to be one of your named scholars. The financial support of this and other scholarships is truly a gift of time and advanced opportunities, and would be a deeply appreciated investment in my education and my ability to contribute to aerospace innovation.

Aeronautics has fascinated me for as long as I can remember. My interest began in childhood, whether I was flying on airplanes or listening to my grandpa's stories about his time in the Navy. This passion persisted throughout my life, but it truly blossomed during the summer before my senior year of high school. A pivotal moment was landing an internship at a company called REC, a hardware and software integration firm. This opportunity allowed me to engage in mechanical and electrical engineering work and integrate avionics systems. The internship also provided invaluable experience and insight into what it is truly like to work in this exciting field, and I have loved every moment of it. I was even offered a part-time job while finishing school only after a month of interning. This reinforced my passion for aeronautics but also motivated me to embark on personal aviation projects. At my school, every senior creates a capstone project that reflects their learning throughout high school. For my project, I chose to create an autonomous quadcopter drone with a range of over 4000 meters and a payload capacity of 1.1 pounds. This project significantly enhanced my knowledge of flight and drones, and inspired me to continue creating innovative designs like this in my professional career. Working on my drone was immensely fulfilling, and I look forward to going to work every day, driven by the desire to push the boundaries of what is possible in aeronautics. Throughout high school, I have balanced honors, advanced placement, and dual enrollment classes while working a part-time job since my sophomore year. In my senior year, I took on a second job to save for college expenses. Despite these commitments, I remained actively involved in my school's robotics team for four years, competing in numerous competitions and honing my engineering and design skills. Additionally, I have been a dedicated member of a local mountain bike racing team called the Las Vegas Vipers for over five years, all while maintaining A's throughout high school. These experiences have taught me essential time management skills and the importance of making sound financial decisions to minimize future debt. The AP and dual enrollment classes I took allowed me to earn college credit, further reducing my overall college costs. However, while I have been diligently saving for college, the rising costs of higher education present a financial challenge for my family. My parents, both public school teachers, have worked tirelessly but the financial strain has only intensified as college expenses continue to escalate. Compounding this challenge, my dad was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) over 20 years ago. This progressive disease poses not only health challenges but also financial burdens on our family. I also have a 15-year-old sister who will be heading to college in just a few years, which will further strain my parents' finances. I recognize that my parents have tried to plan for the increasing costs associated with the unpredictability of MS and for my sister's future education. However, it is likely that their efforts may fall short, and I am committed to doing all I can to alleviate their financial burden and graduate without huge amounts of debt. In conclusion, my journey through high school has been marked by a deepening passion for aeronautics, a strong work ethic, and a commitment to overcoming challenges. I look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead in college, where I hope to expand my knowledge and skills in this fascinating field while supporting my family as best as I can.

The prospect of contributing to an aerospace project team dedicated to designing critical enhancements and updates to America’s missile defense enterprise architecture is an exciting prospect. My enthusiasm to work in the aerospace design field stems from the intervention of a wonderful mentor and teacher. My physics teacher at the US Air Force Academy High School helped me marry my love of engineering design with my high aptitude for mathematics. His contagious passion for this field pointed me towards an area I would otherwise likely never come across on my own, let alone receive the encouragement to pursue it. He helped me muster the self-confidence to pursue my talents and interests, irrespective of whether they aligned with my parent’s plans for me. Discovering aerospace design and engineering, in general, could almost be described as a child first discovering the existence of Hogwarts. Growing up in a household where neither of my parents had an academic background beyond basic algebra, my fascination with aerospace design was absolutely an anomaly of the bell curve and the entire page, for that matter. My disabled mother and my perpetually absent career military father had interests that greatly deviated from my own. They naturally pushed me to look at fields aligned with their interests instead. Aerospace projects and design opportunities offer a unique combination of high-level real-world implications, directly affecting the security of American, NATO, and trans-Pacific partners. The field is also constantly evolving as it continually pushes the boundaries of possibility and is forever at the leading edge of aerospace concepts and design, which I find incredibly exciting. Ideally, my involvement in the project would span all stages of platform design, development, and testing. This would allow me to apply my skills and knowledge in a comprehensive manner, thereby bolstering the technological reliability of existing and future systems. I believe that my contribution can make a significant difference in enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of our missile defense systems. I am eager to matriculate into the College of Engineering at the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs, where I was recently accepted. The chance to learn from the experiences of helping project teams I will work with tackle aerospace challenges side-by-side with the personnel from nearby Peterson Space Force Base and Schriever Space Force Base on current real-world challenges is an amazing privilege I eagerly look forward to. My journey towards aerospace design has been unconventional, yet my commitment to pursuing this field is unwavering. I intend to personally contribute to the advancement of our missile defense enterprise architecture. I want a career of significance, and I cannot imagine anything more significant than continually pushing the boundaries of possible in aerospace.

Hello, I'm Sofia Goodwin. I am an Instrument-rated pilot, ultramarathoner, Ironman 70.3 finisher, and a Nevada Union High School Valedictorian with a passion for aviation and the outdoors. Ever since I can remember, becoming an airline pilot was my dream. I am pursuing a professional flight aviation degree from San Jose State University. Involving myself on campus with the Women in Aviation Club at SJSU (will be the historian next semester) and working off campus at San Martin airport as a fueler. I want to be a pilot because it is a fascinating and fun career. But my dream isn't just about me having fun; it's also about encouraging other young women to become airline pilots. When I was little, I saw women pilots welcoming us onto planes, and I'd think, "I want to be like her." If I become an airline pilot, I will inspire others and share my journey with those who want to do the same. One of my teachers, Wendy Mora, is a big inspiration for me, and I want to be like her in helping girls like me in the future. I'll do this by volunteering at schools and advising others who want to become pilots. Also, I want to create a social media platform to offer free advice and address questions related to pursuing an aviation career. Navigating the complexities of becoming a pilot can be daunting. Having had others guidance, I understand the importance of mentorship. I hope to empower and assist people in realizing their dreams within the aviation industry. Outside aviation, I pursue goals with huge dedication. From summiting Mt. Whitney to completing an Ironman 70.3 triathlon, showing I am a well-rounded, hardworking individual. My experiences extend to community service, including trash pickups with my high school climate change club, volunteering with Random Acts of Kindness events, volunteering at the save Reid-Hillview Airport Day and being a special needs assistant for the Nevada Union Ski Team. Academically, I am achieving Dean's scholar at SJSU while juggling responsibilities, including balancing a job to support my flight training, being involved in clubs, and other hobbies. In both high school and middle school, I was awarded valedictorian. One of my biggest challenges was after a flight lesson, when I was biking back to campus from the airport, I was hit by a car. My face was entirely bashed open, and I had lost three front teeth. There were so many stitches, and my nose was bloodied and broken. Luckily, I could still walk. After I was off the prescribed pain medication, I went back to flight training. I had not flown in a while and was rusty. Then, with the end of the school year approaching, I had to take another break to study for finals. After finals, I had to live in my car instead of moving back home because the school charged more money to extend our time living in our dorms, and I wanted to finish flight training in San Jose. After about a month, I passed my instrument check ride and was overjoyed! My aviation pursuits are funded by myself and my parents when needed. Luckily, I have received a few other scholarships, that are why I am at this point in my aviation journey today. I work full-time over the summer and winter and part-time during the school year to fund my training. This scholarship would be outstanding in helping me get my commercial license so that I can begin a flying job! It would relieve a significant burden of costs for me, and I would be incredibly grateful!

When NASA launches a rocket and it doesn’t explode, they state “Launch successful”. When I flew the planes we made in my engineering class, try after try after try, I eventually landed it, and it was a success. These events have in common the idea that a goal was set out, that goal was accomplished, and there was more to be done afterward. My time in high school has defined my life in various ways, both with my dreams of impacting Aerospace, and the hardest moment of my life, losing my father. I had my freshman year over Zoom, and then in February, my father died at just fifty years old. It shocked us all, but I pushed through, continuing to learn and push forward in life, it's what he would have wanted. NASA is not satisfied with just one launch, and I am not done with just high school engineering courses. My courses have given me a glimpse into fluid dynamics, mechanical forces, and thermodynamics, and my mind has been expanded to think more about how rockets and planes work. A goal I possess is to attend an institution that will provide me with further knowledge of our current understanding of aerospace mechanics. While going to college, I must work because my family can’t send me fully paid. If I have a scholarship, I can focus on my passion, to change the industry. I want to enter this industry and change it, so success in my job would look like me achieving this goal, leaving a lasting and impactful trace on the aerospace industry. I believe that some way I can work with materials as well as devise different designs for how to make our rockets safer, more fuel-efficient, and faster. I am passionate about space crafts and flight, and I can help a lot of people by revolutionizing that, but I need to gain knowledge from a university to achieve this. The reason I want to impact this industry is because I like rockets. I built model rockets both as a kid and a teen, and visiting museums with them has always been a great experience seeing these machines. I want to do more for this industry because that would be the most fun and fulfilling goal in my life. But these dreams of mine rely on me having the time to achieve them, and with how expensive college is, debt is certain to dissolve my plans. This is why I write, to ask for a scholarship to help me get through college and make a larger impact on this world than I can right now.