
March 2022 | ISE Magazine 47
SpaceX and Blue Origin
to smaller companies and
startups.
I initially wrote myself
off as being completely
underqualified, as my
educational background
in industrial engineering
did not seem to tie directly
into aerospace. However,
after meeting a few of the
2020 fellows whose back-
grounds spanned more
than just aerospace engi-
neering, I decided to throw my hat in the ring. My appli-
cation cycle required two letters of recommendation, two
written pieces (a short essay, a long essay), a creative piece
of work, a resume and my academic transcript. The goal of
the application process, I would later find out, is not just to
identify the most academically gifted individuals but those
who have exhibited grit and growth in extraordinary ways.
A month or so after submitting my initial application, I
got an email that informed me that I was a Brooke Owens
Fellowship semifinalist, which meant I was in the top 15% of
applicants. I then had a 15-minute phone interview with one
of the executive members to talk a bit more in-depth about
my experiences and preferred work environments. After a
few more weeks, I was told I made it to the finalist round in
the top 10% of applicants.
At this point, the selection process was in the hands of the
host companies. I was given four companies with whom to
interview, primarily in venture capital or aerospace consult-
ing spaces. After each interview, the company and the finalist
rate each other anonymously; if there is a fit, the company
selects the individual for a paid internship and three paid days
off for the Fellowship Summit in July. About half of the fi-
nalists are eventually accepted as fellows.
In December 2020, I received news that out of more than
800 applicants, I was one of 44 fellows, also called “Brook-
ies,” for the class of 2021. My host company was Space Capi-
tal, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in space-
enabled technologies. Beyond securing a summer internship,
a stressful task for any undergraduate, I gained an incredible
community of Brookie alumnae, executive board members,
professional mentors and academic mentors. Because my ex-
posure to aerospace had been limited , the Brookie com-
munity was crucial to getting me interested and involved
in the industry. After receiving the fellowship, alumnae and
executive board members brought the new class of Brook-
ies into panel discussions, graduate school boot camps and
company info sessions.
The largest part of the fellowship experience is the sum-
mer internship. Space Capital was eye-opening to me be-
cause it invests in parts of the space economy nobody talks
about. While most people think of rockets and astronauts,
Space Capital specifically looks at “space-enabled technolo-
gies.” Some examples are geolocation, climate tracking,
communications and autonomous vehicles, some of which
we interact with daily. In a general sense, they invested in
technologies that use satellite data to make our lives better.
My role at the company was somewhat broad and I was
able to experience different aspects of the business. Some
projects included independent deal-sourcing, creating a
three-part article series on the state of the space-enabled in-
surance technology market and creating a research-backed
guide to founders on how to approach the hiring process as
a young startup. Beyond those personal projects, I had the
opportunity to attend deal flow meetings and founder intros,
which offered a deeper insight into the world of startups and
how venture capital allows for the incredible innovation I
was witnessing.
While there was not a lot of overlap between my industrial
engineering studies and internship at Space Capital, it was
perhaps one of the best introductions to the space industry
I could have received. We looked at companies whose mis-
sions spanned from data science to autonomous vehicles, ro-
bots to on-orbit manufacturing and new insurance models
for rocket ride-share. I became aware that the space industry
requires more skill sets than those of astronomers and aero-
space engineers. We need businesspeople and policymakers.
We need lawyers, agricultural experts, computer scientists
and mechanics. I feel pretty confident the space industry
needs industrial engineers, too.
The vastness of space presents us with seemingly endless
opportunity but also with new and extensive logistical chal-
lenges. While humans have had a presence in space since
the mid-20th century, the last decade has seen exponential
growth in the private space industry, and with it new chal-
The space industry has been slow to attract
new and diverse talent, which has deeply
stunted its growth potential. We need
greater representation of “unconventional”
fields in aerospace like industrial
engineering, and to be conscientiously
inviting underrepresented communities to
help us in this monumental effort.
Madeleine Pollack