MVS alum Kristen Ahner ’18 has earned a Brooke Owens Fellowship, which supports exceptional undergraduate women and other gender minorities with space and aviation internships, senior mentorship, and a lifelong professional network. Ahner, who is currently a junior at Princeton University studying Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, will work at The Boeing Company in El Segundo, California. She is one of only 44 talented students recognized as a Brooke Owens Fellow.

The Fellowship committee writes: “The 2021 Brooke Owens Fellows were selected from the Fellowship’s most competitive application year. More than 800 promising and talented students applied from Ivy League universities, major research universities, historically Black colleges and universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, and major international universities. Forty-four Fellows were selected through a competitive application process involving written and creative submissions, interviews with the Fellowship’s volunteer-based leadership team and its close network, and interviews with the host companies. The selected Fellows have demonstrated their desire to pursue a career in aerospace, a record of leadership, a commitment to their communities, and their inexhaustible creativity.”

The Brooke Owens Fellows will be matched to an executive-level mentor committed to helping the Fellows launch their careers. This summer, the Fellows will start their internships and come together virtually for the annual Brooke Owens Summit. The Brooke Owens Fellowship honors the memory of beloved industry pioneer and accomplished pilot D. Brooke Owens, who passed away in June 2016 at the age of 35, after a hard-fought battle with cancer.

MVS congratulates Kristen on her amazing achievement and wishes her luck in her internship this summer!