From Virginia Tech to the eye of the storm

I feel like in a lot of events you have people who are a bit older than me. I'm still technically under 30, right? Yes, you can come back and also talk to your university. My name is Rebecca Keller. I am an aerospace engineer with NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center, better known as the NOAA Hurricane Hunters. I graduated Virginia Tech in 2018 with a degree in aerospace engineering. The SEC or the Student Engineers Council is a student group. And our main goal is to develop community within the College of Engineering. Every year we have Engineers Week one event every single day for five days. This event is our distinguished lecture. Having an alumnus come in, give a talk, and do a Q&A with some of the students here. We were very excited to have Rebecca Keller be interested in coming in to talk with our students. She has a very unique job and something that we've never really been able to showcase as part of Engineers Week. Flying into hurricanes is no joke. And she's also one of the first young alumnus to come in and do a talk. So that's also huge and a great way for our students to get connected. I chose to come back to Virginia Tech for this event. Just to be able to give back to the engineering students, knowing that I was eager to know what type of careers were out there, I had no idea that the NOAA Hurricane Hunters existed. So sharing what I do and the incredible mission that we accomplish, is really an honor. Virginia Tech is very much ingrained in my family. My dad is a Virginia Tech grad of the class of 1981, electrical engineering. It is truly a wonderful experience to come back and be able to give back, I actually like I get a little teary eyed I don't know. I think we can all agree Virginia Tech has one of the most outstanding communities there is. I knew I had to take this opportunity and come back. and relate to the students and just encourage them to let them know that you don't have to have it all figured out right now, I was once in their shoes only eight years ago, whether it was with my study partners or, a design team or just other classmates figuring out how to problem solve and come to a conclusion together. That skill has been something that I've carried through in all aspects of my career. When you're able to have that self-motivation and dedication, it will take you beyond where you even expect to go. Like for me, it took me to the eye of a hurricane.