In the last year, the Aerospace Center for Excellence (ACE) has started two speaker series called Wings ‘n Waffles and Cookies ‘n Convos. Each month there is a guest speaker in the aviation career field that speaks upon their experience and how they got into the position they are in. Wings ‘n Waffles is geared towards adults where you listen to a guest speaker while enjoying tasty chicken and homemade waffles. Cookies ‘n Convos is geared towards youth, where kids can enjoy delicious cookies (homemade by Publix!) and interact with the guest speaker of the month by asking questions about the field they are in. The kids can enjoy flying on flight simulators in our Redbird Flight Simulations Laboratory at the end of the speaker’s presentation.
How does this speaker series impact our audience? A great example of this is by looking at Elise Araiza. She looked up different events in the area, and this is where she found Wings ‘n Waffles at ACE! She attended when Dr. Aaron Judy presented this past summer. Dr. Aaron Judy is the Chief Test Engineer for the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) in Orlando, FL. He served as NAWCTSD Branch head for the Strike Training Systems T&E Branch, responsible for the F-35, F-18, and other carrier platforms. He is the former lead test Engineer for Training Systems on the MQ-4C Triton Program. He has spent time at NOAA supporting their flight tests during hurricanes. He also has over 1,000 flight hours as a pilot and Flight Test Engineer.
After the presentation was finished, Araiza spoke with Dr. Judy one-on-one and connected with him on potential job opportunities. She sent in her resume to him and shortly after, she ended up touring the facility he worked at. At the tour, she had an impromptu interview and shortly after was hired on as a Test Engineer specifically working on P-8 training systems after finishing her Master’s degree. The Boeing P-8 aircraft is a Maritime Patrol Aircraft that is utilized for intelligence, surveillance, search-and-rescue, and more. The aircraft can fly up to 41,000 feet and reaches a speed of 490 knots. Over 166 aircraft are in service around the globe.
Elise Araiza was born and raised in Lakeland, FL. She attended George Jenkins where she discovered her interest in Engineering through mathematics and science. She also grew up with SUN ‘n FUN close by where she heard the military jet teams fly over her house every year. She attended a Women in Aerospace conference in Arizona during her Freshman year, where she saw that there were unique opportunities available. Her interest in Engineering paired with a passion for Aerospace. She decided on attending Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland, FL with a major in Mechanical Engineering and a focus on Aerospace Engineering.
While earning her Bachelor’s degree, Araiza worked at a construction company through an internship program, a space startup company based in California, and at Catapult Lakeland’s Makerspace. As a student, Araiza served on the boards for the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) clubs, along with organizing a 24-hour event called PhoenixHacks. She also participated in the L’SPACE Virtual Academies and represented Florida Polytechnic as an AIAA Diversity Scholar at the 70th International Astronautical Congress. This past December, she earned her M.S. degree in Engineering from Florida Polytechnic University. It was around this time that she started at NAWCTSD as a Test Engineer since making a connection with Dr. Judy at Wings ‘n Waffles at ACE!
Interested in coming to our next Wings ‘n Waffles? Come out to see the Pioneers of SUN ‘n FUN on May 11th from 9-10 AM at the Florida Air Museum! Museum Members get in for FREE! Non-Museum Members are $10 a person. Sign up here!
