When he was a child, Ariel Goya did not imagine that the trips his grandmother Blanca made to the United States, the country where he settled permanently, would be key in his story. She paved the way for her own in that nation.
“My grandmother asked me when I was 3 years old and after 10 years they gave me the residency. In November 2021 I received citizenship,” says Ariel, a 21-year-old from Guayaquil, who is currently in his fourth year of Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in Daytona Beach, state of Florida, United States.
In 2016, she moved to New Jersey to complete her high school education, as it makes it easier to access an American university. Ariel says that she won a scholarship, with which she financed 50% of her career, and that time later that percentage increased to 80%. “The other 20% my parents help me pay with a lot of effort,” says the young man.
“I have belonged to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. There I participated in a project called DBF (Design, Build and Fly) for more than three years. The project consists of designing, building and flying a remote control plane with missions that large companies give us. I belong to the design and manufacturing team of the plane. I use 3D design programs to be able to design the plane and then proceed to the manufacturing steps, using assembly machinery and materials”, explains Ariel.
In 2021, his team came in second place among a hundred participating universities, in a contest —sponsored by a major company— that consisted of building an airplane with certain characteristics to launch sensors through a cargo door in the lower part of the plane. fuselage, prototype that could be used in cargo delivery missions without the need to land.
“Thanks to the knowledge I gained in the program, I received several internship offers for the summer of 2022, with companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Bell Flight Textron, Tesla and Delta Airlines. Sadly I can only do one internship at a time; which, after deep thought with my parents and mentors, I decided to accept my offer with Boeing, as a Production and Manufacturing Engineer at the Department of Defense,” he says. In that same company he hopes to make a career and in the near future to study a master’s degree in Project Management.
Design for Boeing, Airbus and Elon Musk’s company
The campus of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has also witnessed the footsteps of other Ecuadorians.
Diego Guerrero, 25, who is pursuing a master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, says that the hardest thing about his experience abroad is the distance from his family.
“We are very close and without a doubt I need the warmth of my home. The academic environment has been relatively simple, I feel that the foundations of education that I had in Ecuador are much higher than the demands that I have had here. I studied my baccalaureate at the Colegio San Gabriel and Mechanical Engineering at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito”, comments the young man enthusiastically, who arrived at that university in 2021.
His experience in mechanical engineering has helped him win some jobs within the Alma mater.
“Being a master’s student I can be hired by the university to collaborate and teach. I have been an instructor in the Wind Tunnel Laboratory. I teach two classes a week in this laboratory for the subject of Experimental Aerodynamics. In this laboratory we have three wind tunnels with different study purposes, in which we can analyze scale models and wing profiles”, details the Ecuadorian.
Aerospace Engineering students should take that course in their third year, Diego says. There, he performs experiments related to the fundamental bases of aerodynamics.
Among his plans, the engineer points to the top of the sky. And he says it without metaphors.
“Design has been my passion since I was a child, so my main goal is to be able to translate my ideas from paper or computer to real life. I would love to continue my studies and get a Ph.D. There are many interesting topics in the aerospace industry. I want to design aircraft for a large company (Boeing, Airbus, SpaceX)”, emphasizes the teacher.
Legal migration to the US is an option but, in the case of Ecuadorian residents or citizens, they must know the requirements and amounts to invest to ask for relatives
Machaleño works on research to improve aircraft construction materials
Little by little, Ecuadorians have adapted to the academic, cultural and work life of that institution. Foreign students are allowed up to 20 hours of work per week. Derek Espinosa, 22, has not missed that opportunity either and since 2017, when he started his bachelor’s degree, he has held various positions.
“I started tutoring freshman physics and math classes, and then tutored engineering classes for like two or three years until I finished my bachelor’s degree. For the first semester of my master’s degree, they offered me to be the supervisor of the entire tutoring center and they paid me for the classes for that semester. After that semester, they offered me a Ph.D. contract. Practically, now I dedicate myself to research and they offered me a full scholarship,” says Espinosa.
Currently, the young man from Machalé is working on research on materials and structures for aeronautical engineering.
“I am working with composite materials, such as carbon fiber. We evaluate your properties. This material is used in the aeronautical industry. We are trying to improve it with different procedures. Among the objectives is to improve its resistance to impacts and lower manufacturing costs”, explains Espinosa.
Like Derek, Diego and Ariel acknowledge that at first it was a bit difficult for them to adapt, but with discipline, patience and a defined plan they managed to fit in with the rest of the students and earn a place in a community of growing knowledge. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
