08/13/2024
Here is another inspiring alumni success story!
John Brand is this month's Engineering & Information Technologies Alumni of the Month. Read John's inspiring message below.
I started my collegiate career at Chattanooga State in Spring of 2012. This was my second attempt at college, and I didn’t have a clear direction or goal. I just wanted to take a couple classes and see where it would go. My first semester didn’t go as planned; I ended up failing precalculus while withdrawing from other classes. It left me feeling like college may not be the best direction for my life, but ultimately, I decided to push on and try harder. So, three semesters into my college career I was still a non-degree seeking student with no direction, but I was determined to give it one more semester before quitting college for good. As Fall of 2014 rolled around I had to decide what type of classes to register for. My father and grandfather worked in Engineering, so I figured maybe I should try out some Engineering classes. That semester I took Manufacturing Process with Prof. Mark Palmer. I believe this was a turning point for me in my academic career. This was the first time I was genuinely interested in an academic subject, and more importantly it was the first A I ever received in college. This helped me decide that I would pursue an education in Engineering. Over the next few semesters, I took some amazing classes with great professors; James Hawkins, Lynda Pickett, Mark Palmer, Val deOlloqui, just to name a few. These professors really invested in and encouraged me along the way. Fast forward to Fall of 2015, as I was wrapping up my A.A.S in Mechanical Engineering Technology. Val, my academic advisor, asked me if I had considered continuing my education and getting a Bachelors in Engineering. I initially considered it impossible because I was an older student (26 yr old), newly married and looking at starting a family. But, Val continued to encourage me to take the chance and believe in myself and so I did. We changed my major my last semester and I started taking transfer classes. I was introduced to an amazing new group of staff; Beth Ruta, Jackie Smith, Paul Morely, again just to name a few. In the Fall 2017, my time at Chattanooga State as a student came to an end. I went to the University of Tennessee Chattanooga where I completed my BS in Mechanical Engineering and received a post Bachelor's Certificate in Technical Project Management. But, I wasn’t done with Chatt State just yet. My professors became colleagues when I started teaching classes as an adjunct professor. It was such a full circle moment to be teaching many of the classes I first took at the beginning of my Chattanooga State education. There is so much more to my story, but I will try not to ramble on. Since graduating, I’ve been blessed with a rewarding career in aerospace. From working on the next lunar lander for the NASA Artemis program, to testing hypersonic SCRAM jet engines for the AirForce, and testing the half million-pound thrust BE4 rocket engine that powers the Blue Origin New Glenn and ULA Vulcan rocket families. Today, I work as a Launch Engineer for SpaceX, and I have worked on both the Dragon and Falcon programs. If you would have asked me in 2012 when I first walked on to campus, if I thought I would be working for the biggest aerospace company in the world sending humans to space, I would have probably laughed at you. I thank God for putting amazing people in my life and helping guide me to where I am today. I fully believe people like my advisors Val deOlloqui and Jacqueline Smith, and all the many amazing professors along the way at Chattanooga State, are the reason why I am where I am today.
