Could you tell us a little bit about your career and your passions?
My career path hasn’t been linear, but I suppose most journeys in life rarely are. I’ve always leaned into what I was passionate about and have pushed myself to listen to my curiosity as a guiding light. I studied fine art and languages & linguistics, a far cry from where I find myself today at an aerospace company. The consistent thread throughout my career has been that I’ve always been an effective communicator, and every corner of the world has a place for communications professionals.
I’ve been at Virgin Galactic since 2019 where I have led internal communications. As Senior Manager, Internal Communications, I manage the team that creates and publishes corporate, departmental, and cultural communications to our teammate base across locations and time zones. Earlier this year, I was selected for a spaceflight: Virgin Galactic’s Unity 25 mission. I brought a different perspective from the pilots and engineers who had flown before me. Like many Virgin Galactic customers, I don’t have a technical background, which allowed me to evaluate the customer readiness program prior to the start of commercial service.
Seeing the planet from above the atmosphere – where it is seen without borders, glowing and pristine, against the timeless and hostile depth of space – was breathtaking and ineffable.
What memories do you have of your GAPP exchange?
Fond ones! Our GAPP program was between 2005-2006, and we were very lucky to travel to both east and west Germany over the summer of 2006. Our German class spent time in Dresden, Sachsen at the Evangelisches Kreuzgymnasium and Mosbach, Baden-Württemberg at the Nicolaus-Kistner-Gymnasium.
In Dresden, we had the chance to experience city life, which was quite the change for many of us coming from a small city in southern New Mexico. I loved walking on the Loschwitz bridge from my guest family’s house, seeing the Semperoper of Dresden, and hearing the Dresdner Kreuzchor.
In Mosbach, we got a taste for a slightly slower pace of life between the Black Forest, exploring so many Burgen, and sightseeing very cute Dörfer. I fondly remember visiting the Bäckerei in Neckargerach (where my guest family lived), meeting Mosbach’s Burgermeister, touring Heidelberg, and enjoying the brilliant, winding waters of the Neckar.
And, perhaps most important to note is that our stay coincided with the FIFA World Cup (hosted in Germany!), so spirits were high nearly every day! It was an exceptional time to take in German culture and learn how to properly yell, “’SCHLAAAAND!”
Have you returned to Germany since your exchange and/or are you still in touch with your exchange partner?
I have been fortunate to return to Germany a handful of times! My host sister Lisa and host mama Christine from Baden-Württemberg came to visit me in New Mexico as well, so we’ve worked to stay connected. They even came to my wedding years ago, which was a wonderful day to share with them!
Do you still use your German language skills?
Nur ein bisschen! …Oder ‘ein bissel’ wenn man aus Süddeutschland kommt! While I follow a few German Instagram accounts, I now mostly use my German when watching the occasional TV show! I am currently watching a very dark thriller called „Totenfrau” on Netflix which is set in Austria. I’ve just started it, so please no spoilers!
Could you describe in which ways your language skills helped you build your career?
Studying foreign languages and cultures helped me foster a foundational belief that all people, despite their mother tongue or birth location, care deeply about others, want to live fulfilling lives, and do good. Learning from an early age that there is more that connects us than divides us is something I’ve carried with me and is how I choose to see the world.
Studying language also helped me nurture other transferable skills that have supported me throughout my professional career and personal life. The willingness to try learning a language, even when the probability of failure seems high (*see der, die, und das), taught me to embrace the fear of being misunderstood and accepting that I might sound silly. Learning German, which most days felt only like an attempt to learn German, was also a great exercise in patience and discipline. Übung macht den Meister!
If you could talk to your 15-year-old self – what would you tell her?
That you exist at all on this beautiful, fragile planet suspended amidst endlessness, is incredible enough. Say yes to the good things and make decisions rooted in your curiosity and not your fear. And take any chance you get to travel because material things come and go, but experiences become part of you.
That, and don’t take yourself too seriously that you forget to have fun.
