Theodore Todorov

I went abroad to Australia to further my studies of Aerospace Engineering. At first it was very stressful as I had difficulty finding housing before the semester started. However, once I found housing, I met my roommates, a lady from Malta, another from Germany, a freshman from Hong Kong, and a junior from France. We all got along well, along with the house cat Raj. My life would consist of playing with Raj, going on an adventures with my roommates and then studying late for my classes. I am very thankful and happy to have had such an experience.

I was not expecting to have such a diverse cohort of peers as my roommates. I got to know them very well and got close with them. Movie night, often turned into late night talk and games. I am happy I got to meet them all!

I went abroad to Australia for many reasons, but one big one was that it offered an undergraduate space systems course. This is not offered in the ECS department at SU and therefore gave me the opportunity to further my studies in space system engineering. My work in this course has impressed all employers I have spoken with and helped me land my first internship.

Due to my work in my space system courses, I was inspired to tailor my honors thesis as a space mission and orbital trajectory analysis. It has let me down a path where I have had the opportunity to connect with professionals from industry and directly ask for their help and support of my thesis.

This award made my trip to Australia possible by funding my plane ticket there and back.