My name is Tristan Magel. I am an student with a minor in and I am in the Honors College. I am on track to graduate in 2026.
Above all else, one factor drove me to choose ¾ÅÓÎÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø: aerospace engineering. I have dreamt of being an aerospace engineer since elementary school, and I had a solid idea of what I wanted to be before I could even spell the words out. As a result, my college search was heavily focused on schools that directly offered the aerospace engineering major, of which there were surprisingly few.
After factoring in location and financial aid, ¾ÅÓÎÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø was a clear choice for me to make.
Beyond just the numbers, what attracted me to Kent’s engineering program was how new it was. The major had been introduced only a handful of years ago and was rapidly growing.
The greatest benefit of the growing program was the smaller class sizes. The ability to talk directly with my professors after nearly every class was a massive benefit to my academics. Not only that, but the small class sizes meant that I was with my peers nearly all of the time. This closeness, especially in the challenging academic environment of engineering, forged friendships and a sense of community that is unlike anywhere else.
But more than classes, the college also offered clubs that directly appealed to my interests. During the Blastoff club introduction event, I learned about the ¾ÅÓÎÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø High-Power Rocket Team and immediately knew that I wanted to be a part of it. I have always been a hands-on person, and working on technical projects is how I not only learn but have fun as well. I can remember walking into the first club meeting with a sense of apprehension. I was, after all, a freshman who had been in college for all of two weeks. While I knew that I would be able to see what was being worked on, I thought that my chances of working on actual hardware were low. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
As the weeks went on, I was able to become more and more involved. I went from listening, to coding, to working on electronics, and finally to integrating the systems in the rocket. My expectation of what I thought I would be able to do was completely blown out of the water. But my work on the rocket didn’t end during the school year. As summer drew closer, selection for the members of the competition team happened.
The High-Power Rocket Team is not only an engineering club but is also a competitive team for the Spaceport America Cup, the largest intercollegiate rocket competition in the world. This competition involves traveling out to Spaceport America in New Mexico and flying your rocket against teams from all over the world. When I heard that my name had made it to the roster, I was beyond elated. I, as a freshman, would be traveling to the largest competition in the world.
The competition was a truly incredible experience. Attending the conference with hundreds of other teams who had spent countless hours on their projects was an experience like no other but was nothing compared to actual launch. Seeing your rocket on the launch rail and hearing the countdown and then watching it disappear into the sky was exhilarating. A full year's worth of work all concentrated into a flight measured in minutes. But more than just the flight was the knowledge that I directly contributed to it. Sensors running on code that I wrote captured data from the flight. Screws that I put into the structures I designed housed the instrument package that the code was running on.
When I first came to Kent, I didn’t expect to be able to work on anything. In the end, my work showed me that the sky was not the limit.
Beyond the rocket team, I am involved with the ¾ÅÓÎÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø Honors College. During my freshman year, I was a part of the Honors Leadership Academy (HLA). This group allowed me to become involved with several volunteering opportunities in the Kent area as well as a service trip to Washington, DC.
In addition to the volunteer opportunities, HLA has connected me with some of the most driven and involved people on campus.
At this point, I think I know someone is just about every club and organization on campus. Beyond HLA, I have stayed involved in the Honors College through the Honors Research Symposium as well as the social events scattered throughout the year. My favorite social event is the start of the year ice cream social. It is always so interesting to see what people have planned for their college experiences!
At present, I am still involved in the Rocket Team working on ever more ambitious projects. I returned to Spaceport America my sophomore year and I hope to be able to return this year. I am also involved in the Spacecraft Design Laboratory researching satellite communications as well as developing hardware for ¾ÅÓÎÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø’s first-ever satellite. My research has involved receiving images from the weather satellites and the International Space Station with the goal of making radio contact with an astronaut during the spring semester.
If I had to give advice to the current high school seniors out there, it would be to just jump in. You never know what opportunities are out there until you try it. If you are on the fence about something, do it. Here at ¾ÅÓÎÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø, there is no shortage of opportunities, and you will find people who will support you and let you chase your dreams to the sky, and beyond.