Growing up in Plano, Texas, watching Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Star Trek with his parents, Jason Smith developed an early interest in all things aerospace. When the time came to apply for college, he knew he wanted to study aerospace engineering, and he knew he wanted to go to Georgia Tech — where his uncle, Robert Glenn, graduated with a degree in chemical engineering in 1994.

Now, Smith is preparing to wrap up one chapter of his life at this weekend’s Commencement ceremony, and begin a new one in Seattle, Washington, at SpaceX as an ion propulsion test engineer.

As he looks forward to “celebrating everything that my friends and I have been through and achieved,” he takes a moment to reflect on how far he’s come. “Georgia Tech was everything I expected and more,” he said. “It was just as difficult as I anticipated, but people were so incredibly supportive and collaborative that I never felt like I was alone on this journey.”

Along the way, Smith seized opportunities outside of the classroom and the lab, from being a member of the men’s rowing team to promoting LGBTQ representation in the engineering sector. “I try to make any team I'm on a safe space for all identities, realizing that a strong team is a diverse team,” he said. One opportunity that eluded Smith as an undergraduate was study abroad. He’d signed up for the Aerospace India program for Summer 2020, but Covid-19 made it impossible.

Still, he credits Tech with “pushing me to my academic limits and making me extremely resilient.” Just as importantly, he said, “I feel like I have the context I need about every corner of the aerospace industry to know exactly what I want to pursue and how to do it successfully.”

And, as many graduating seniors do, Smith has advice for students just beginning their own Georgia Tech journeys. “Have fun. Tech is tough, but going through it alone is tougher,” he said. “Our time at the Institute really isn't that long, so I urge you to enjoy it and make as many friends as you can here. The students at Tech are some of the brightest people I've met in my life, and I've only been enriched by spending time with them and learning as much as I can from them.”