High-Power Rocket Bootcamp (Founder)
Founder & Lead Instructor · Marion County, IN
- Trained 141 K-12 students plus 30 adult volunteers as program facilitators (171 direct participants, reported to Cummins) in high-power rocketry; each participant builds, paints, and launches their own rocket reaching altitudes up to 5,000 feet on student-built motors and airframes (next phase: electronic dual deployment). 336 rockets built, 170+ launched to date; 1,000-rocket public goal.
- Raised $80,000 through MEPI (Minority Engineering Program of Indianapolis, incl. a fully reconciled $40,000 Cummins grant), plus $75,000 committed by Eli Lilly for its Sep 24-25, 2026 Global Day of Service bootcamp (~$155,000 total approved), with corporate sponsorships secured specifically for the bootcamp, from concept through active operations.
- Designed end-to-end curriculum covering aerodynamics, propulsion, recovery systems, and FAA airspace coordination for K-12 students.
- Recruited a volunteer corps of engineers, physicians, and industry leaders, so students meet working professionals from across STEM.
- In active discussions with Eli Lilly's Philanthropy Division to scale the bootcamp model across Lilly's U.S. sites.