What's the Word? Eagle Alumni Spotlights

Makayla Gill (2025, Cyber Intelligence and Security) works on the Threat Informed Defense team at American Express, where she manages technology-standard exceptions and collaborates with teams across the company. Her role includes presentations for vice presidents, professional emails, and creating tutorials and FAQ materials. She says lessons in bottom-line-up-front writing and her experience as...

Taylor Begley (2024, Global Security and Intelligence, with a minor in Emergency Management and Planning) is an emergency management consultant supporting the Department of Health and Human Services’ emergency preparedness and response operations. Her work includes preparing for and responding to incidents that affect public health and healthcare, as well as producing daily intelligence briefings...

Dr. Kathy Wood, now dean of the Prescott College of Engineering, was a 2019 graduate of Embry Riddle's Prescott and Worldwide campus. Dr. Wood her use of highlighted writing in her role, including writing letters of recommendation and furthering program development. She talks about her 30-year aerospace career, which took her from AlliedSignal to Collins Aerospace, and about returning to teach...

Katlyn (2023, Forensic Biology with a minor in Security and Intelligence) is now a master’s student at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, focusing on nonproliferation and terrorism with Russian language study. Alongside her coursework, she does freelance work related to weapons of mass destruction and has completed hands-on CBRN emergency response training and a crime scene interns...

Maria Icenogle, a 2019 graduate of Embry Riddle's Wildlife Science program, a major no longer offered at ERAU. Maria discussed her career journey and current role as Education Director at the Highlands Center for Natural History. She highlighted her experience with Arizona Game and Fish and her passion for outdoor activities, including hiking the Appalachian Trail. Maria emphasized the importa...

John Barragan (2020, Aerospace Engineering) shared his career journey from Sacramento to various roles in aerospace engineering. He worked at Collins Aerospace, General Atomics, and now Honeywell. At Honeywell, he focuses on turbine engine testing. John highlighted his role in designing and testing turbine rigs, collecting performance data, and writing technical reports. He emphasized the importan...

Abigail interviews a recent graduate from Embry Riddle, now a software engineer at Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing Company. The guest shares their favorite memory from college, leading a research team to New Mexico and Texas to study an eclipse, and how that experience translates to their current job, which involves writing test cases for flight software. They emphasize the importance of clear, c...

Nick Kopacek, a 2025 graduate of Embry-Riddle with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, currently works at Raytheon. He discusses his career, which involves significant hands-on work with hardware and extensive report writing. Nick highlights the importance of writing and public speaking as part of collaborating in the workplace. Even for very technical careers, problem-solving skills are more valua...

Nicole Drake, a 2020 aerospace engineering graduate from Embry Riddle, shared her career journey from customer service and semiconductor supplier work to returning as an academic advisor. She fondly recalled her capstone project on an amphibious aircraft during COVID-19. Nicole enjoys advising students, especially those pursuing aviation dreams. Her role involves extensive student interaction, deg...

In this episode, Ron Fielding, a retired Boeing engineer, reflects on his career and how well his education at Embry-Riddle prepared him for his work. He graduated in 1986 with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering, attending both Prescott and Daytona Beach campuses. Ron started at Boeing in defense, transitioning to commercial aircraft and eventually working with Boeing Materials and Technology (B...

Lily Davis, a 2024 graduate from Embry-Riddle's Prescott campus, currently works in the university's philanthropy and alumni department. She transitioned from a forensic biology major to an administrative coordinator role, handling donor interactions, gift processing, and legal documentation. Lily recalls her unique freshman year during COVID-19, marked by virtual classes and daily temperature che...

Mitchel Graham, an Embry-Riddle Prescott graduate and aeronautical engineer at Lockheed Martin, discusses his journey into aircraft and UAV design, emphasizing the value of hands-on experience and strong, versatile communication skills. He shares career highlights, favorite projects like Speed Racer, and advice for students on building friendships, participating in clubs, and staying physically ac...

Hope Elmer, a second-year PhD student at Texas A&M, discusses her research on shape memory alloys, with a shout-out to Dr. David Lanning who helped spur her interest in materials research while she was at ERAU. She mentions how important time management is as a skill for breaking big goals into manageable steps. To communicate her research to other engineers, academics, and general audiences,...

Austin Johnson, a recent graduate from Embry Riddle, discusses his transition from aerospace to mechanical engineering and his current role as an operations engineer at Edwards Air Force Base. He highlights the importance of learning and adapting in his job, which involves writing concise and clear test cards and plans. Austin emphasizes the significance of rhetorical and technical writing skills...

Phil Rosnik, a 1986 graduate of Embry-Riddle's Prescott campus, is an alum from the 5th ever graduating class at Embry. He majored in Aviation Business Management and minored in Aeronautical Science and Engineering, earning two associate degrees. Phil emphasizes the importance of writing in professional life, providing examples from his career at Goodrich Aerospace and United Technologies. He...

Holly Paget, a computer engineering graduate from Embry Riddle, currently works at Micron Technology in Boise, Idaho. She manages teams that stress test memory chips to ensure longevity. Holly emphasizes the importance of clear communication and technical writing in her role, highlighting the need for concise, efficient reports. She notes the difference between academic and industry writing, stres...

Samantha Greene (2023, Aerospace Engineering) tells our new host Leah Little about her career in the navy. She writes technical maintenance procedures for various aircraft and coordinates this work with mechanics and engineers. In her advice to current students, she shares some realities of the job search-- hundreds of applications may yield only dozens of interviews. No matter the challenges of c...

Austin Morgan, a 2024 Embry-Riddle graduate and mechanical engineer at Unico Mechanical Corporation, discusses his career in hydropower engineering. He works on refurbishing and repairing equipment, including hydraulic servos for the Hoover Dam. Austin emphasizes the value of clear, concise, audience-aware communication in his work; he needs to track every step of each repair and report to colleag...

Owen Smith hosts a special episode of his podcast, "What's the Word," to bid farewell to co-host Abigail Bradbury as she graduates from Embry Riddle and moves back to Texas. Abigail shares her excitement about pursuing her CFI and the opportunities ahead. She reflects on the importance of effective email writing, influenced by Dr. Chesley's advice. Abigail highlights the value of...

Kiara Bean (2023) graduated with a degree in forensic accounting and minors in psychology and security. In this episode, she discusses her job in San Diego, where she supports litigation processes at a forensic accounting firm. Her day-to-day tasks vary widely, from tracing analyses in divorce cases to investigating money laundering, so she needs to be flexible with the varied aspects of such work...

Jordan Lowry (AE, discussed her career as a Space Systems Engineer at Boeing, focusing on satellite communication. She highlighted her favorite aspects of her job, including the supportive community and the variety of tasks, such as writing scripts, updating test procedures, and running tests. Jordan transitioned from MATLAB and C programming to Python, which she found challenging but manageable....

Paige, an Embry-Riddle meteorology graduate from 2020, shares her journey through the world of weather forecasting. She has realized that meteorology offers far more diverse career opportunities than she initially realized, ranging from aviation to environmental science and fire weather forecasting. Her current role at the National Weather Service in Flagstaff involves creating detailed forecast p...

Jennifer James (2022, Space Physics) is now a PhD candidate at Vanderbilt University, currently working on the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider in New York. Her role involves plenty of internal communications with others on her team, including emails and presentations. She says it could've been helpful to have more experience with presentations and oral communication before she graduated. Her a...

Grace Brown (Global Security and Intelligence, 2024) works at Raytheon in Tuscon as a security analyst. She loves the variety in her work and sense of collegiality among her coworkers. In this episode she shares a little bit about the technical incident reports and standard operating procedures she writes. Active voice and direct, to-the-point language are key and she honed those writing skills we...

Edward Pinos (2018, Global Security and Intelligence) now works as a security analyst at CrowdStrike. In this episode he tells us about his work investigating insider risks, writing detailed analytical reports, and enhancing security postures for all the critical infrastructure his company deals with. He says that some of his writing and creative communication work almost looks a little like marke...