Expanding our universe
A University of Canterbury student is rocketing from her lectures and labs into the American aerospace industry this year after she won a prestigious Brooke Owens Fellowship.
The only New Zealander and first person from the Southern Hemisphere to become a fellow, Jennifer Berry has already started her fourth year studying engineering at the University of Canterbury.
She is one of 51 (mostly American) undergraduate students earning their places at leading aerospace organisations in the Brook Owens Fellowship class of 2022 and later this year will intern at Space Capital, in New York City. Space Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests exclusively in space-
based technologies.
The Brooke Owens Fellowship is a non-profit US programme recognising exceptional undergraduate women and other gender minorities with space and aviation internships, senior mentorship, and a lifelong professional network.
Berry says it felt “unreal and slightly overwhelming” to discover she would be the first person from Australasia to join the American aerospace fellowship. During her second year at the University of Canterbury, she interned at Rocket Lab’s New Zealand headquarters, sparking her interest in applying for the Brooke Owens fellowship.
“I feel extremely blessed to be able to call myself a ‘Brookie’ alongside incredible women and gender minorities committed to driving two shared missions – to expand our reach into the universe and to disrupt the historical gender imbalance in the aerospace industry.
“Both these missions go hand-in-hand,” says Berry, who moved from Auckland to Christchurch to study towards her Mechanical Engineering Bachelor of Engineering with Honours degree at the University of Canterbury.
“It is a huge privilege to be in a position to uplift and support other young women and gender minorities in this part of the world with their future applications and in their journeys in the aerospace sector.”
The 51 Fellows were selected through an application process involving written and creative submissions, interviews with the Fellowship’s leadership team and its close network, and interviews with 36 leading aerospace employers from across multiple sectors in the US aerospace industry.The Fellows were selected based on their commitment to their communities, stand-out creative abilities, record of leadership, incredible talent, and their desire to pursue a career in aerospace.
