Aubrey Smith

Major: Mechanical Engineering
Hometown: Lebanon, Ohio

To Aubrey Smith, nothing has more potential than an object hurtling through space. 

The sophomore mechanical engineering major from Lebanon, Ohio, is a pitcher on the Rose-Hulman softball team, and she started all 40 games on the field during her first season. 

“Pitching was truly my first love as a little girl,” Smith said. “I fell in love with being in charge of the game and the challenge of discovering how small adjustments in my body could drastically change the way the ball dances and spins around the plate.” 

She added, “There’s something magical about commanding movement and spin, feeling the seams against my fingers, and watching the ball come alive as it travels toward the batter. It’s a feeling that will never grow old to me.”

Smith took that desire to observe how objects fly to her internship at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, after her first year at Rose-Hulman. She worked as a robotics analyst intern with the Flight Operations Directorate, working on projects related to the International Space Station and space travel.

"NASA taught me, most importantly, to be willing to admit when I don't know something and how to seek out the answers I need," Smith said. "Additionally, I was exposed to many leaders of the engineering field and got to learn from their influence and practice my own leadership during my summer project."

Smith is a leader on campus as much as she was on her project at NASA. She is involved in Delta Delta Delta sorority and the Society of Women Engineers, as well as Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Intervarsity. She has taken on active roles within the Noblitt Scholars Program, serving as a member of the Noblitt Outreach Committee and as the chairperson of the Social Committee.

"The Noblitt Outreach Committee has allowed me to devote time to reaching the youth of Terre Haute community with fun STEM educational events," Smith said. "Our social committee has given me the opportunity to be in constant communication with the scholar community while leading meetings and planning events for our scholars to attend." 

That community is one of the aspects of the Noblitt Scholars Program she values most. "I'm a part of a group that not only understands my work ethic and personality but also wants to make a lasting difference in the world," Smith explained. "The Noblitt Scholar community is inspirational and supportive and has given me connections for a lifetime."

The support and resources of the Noblitt Scholars Program, combined with the skills she is practicing through her other organizations, will help Smith realize her own potential as she flies toward her career goals.