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WIAA volunteers are pictured in a group photo during WIAA Day. From left to right: back row: Mia Skeers, Dolev Blander, Isabella Schroeder, Alex Sepulveda, Lili Bao, Julia Litovchick, Kirti Rangaraj, Mila Stepan. Front row: Alyssa Rubenstein, Marissa Potts, Mrinalini Uniyal. |
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Students from area middle and high schools had the chance to see college-level STEM education in action during an outreach event organized by Women in Aeronautics and Astronautics (WIAA), a student-run organization with a focus on empowerment, outreach, and professional development.
At the event, known as WIAA Day, attendees toured robotics labs and the Neutral Buoyancy Research Facility, and met with members of the Terps Racing team.
Students participate in a robotics activity during their tour of the Robotics and Autonomy Laboratory in the E.A. Fernandez IDEA Factory. Graduate student Kruti Bhingradiya (right) leads the activity, held as part of WIAA Day.The pictured students are (left to right) Katie Goodman, Natalie White, and Eshan Patel.
They also participated in hands-on activities that included building robots, assembling marshmallow towers, and competing in an egg drop contest. Staff and faculty were on hand, meanwhile, to talk with parents about STEM educational pathways and what aspiring students should do to prepare.
Jessica R. Jones ‘11, principal aeroelastician at Aurora Flight Sciences, gave the keynote address at the event. Jones is Flight Physics Integrated Product Team Lead for the NASA/Boeing X-66 transonic truss-braced wing Subsonic Flight Demonstrator.
“The purpose of WIAA Day is to inspire women to pursue careers in STEM,” said WIAA Co-Chair Amelia “Mia” Skeers, a senior in aerospace engineering who has been with the organization since her freshman year. “We want them to consider the idea that STEM could be their future and to interact with women who are pursuing that avenue.”
“The event gives them an opportunity to see what it’s all about and decide if it’s something they might be interested in, while getting to do some fun things on campus as well,” Skeers said.
Engineering undergrads who volunteer at the event also come away feeling inspired, with a renewed commitment to their choice of major, she said.
WIAA Day is just one of many activities on the organization’s calendar. Others include WIAA Night, held in the fall, which brings together club members and professionals from aerospace engineering and related fields.
This spring, the organization is also hosting the WIAA Aerospace Formal, to be held on April 17. The gala is open to all undergrads in the aerospace engineering department, not just members of WIAA, and is intended as a fun interlude before students hit the books for finals.
Founded in 2015, WIAA celebrated its 10th anniversary with a celebration that included a keynote address by NASA engineer and past WIAA president Kimberly Westbrook ‘17, who organized the first WIAA Day in 2016.
April 16, 2026
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