January 29, 2020
Aerospace engineering senior Josefina Salazar Morales was one of six students at The University of Texas at Austin to receive a 2020 President’s Leadership Award. The awards, established with an endowment from past Texas Exes president Frank Denius in 1985, recognize undergraduate students who have demonstrated outstanding leadership within the student community at UT Austin. One sophomore, two juniors and three seniors receive the award annually.
Originally from Costa Rica, Salazar has a deep passion for the unknown. With her aerospace engineering degree, she aims to become a leader in the space industry and develop innovative spacecraft to make impactful scientific discoveries. During her time at UT Austin as an aerospace engineering (ASE) major, she has proven to be a leader, having served as an ASE peer advisor and the ASE undergraduate recruitment coordinator. She has also served as president for the Women in Aerospace for Leadership and Development and is involved with undergraduate research in the Texas Spacecraft Lab.
We asked Salazar a few questions about her experience as a student leader and as a student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics.
You have served as an ASE peer advisor and president of WIALD and now you’re serving as the undergraduate recruitment coordinator. How have these experiences help shape you?
They have made me realize how much I value mentorship in my life, and what it means to mentor others. I've been able to have really great mentors in my life that have helped me define my path, so all I can do to repay them is to mentor others as well. Thanks to these positions I've gotten the chance to connect with some truly amazing young students that have fantastic ideas and clear passion. It's truly an honor to get to meet them and I hope that I can serve in helping define their path as well. It's also very fulfilling seeing someone grow and welcoming them into our aerospace world, so that's something I definitely want to continue both in my last semester at UT and onwards.
My experience with WIALD (Women in Aerospace for Leadership Development) and the TSL (Texas Spacecraft Lab) also shaped how much I value culture and inclusivity. My goal in these organizations was to create a place where people can feel free to be themselves and really feel like a part of the group. It can be really hard to make your voice heard in engineering, especially as a woman, so that's why I want to be a leader so that I can let others be heard too.
Tell us about your involvement with undergraduate research in the Texas Spacecraft Lab.
I am the Flight Hardware lead for the TSL, which involves managing a team of five engineers for our lab's missions and mostly working on our satellites' payloads. It is absolutely one of my favorite things in the world! I've been a part of TSL for almost three years now and I still can't believe how much every day there helps me grow. I've been able to learn so much about spacecraft, engineering, leadership and working in a team. It's what helped me get my first internship, what helped me figure out what I want to do with my life, and helped me realize I want to continue to work with similarly passionate and intelligent people. I also made some of my best friends through the lab!
How did you feel when you learned you received the President’s Leadership award?
It came at a pretty frantic time, to be honest. The whole semester I had struggled a lot in my classes and keeping up with my grades, school activities and life in general. The award came right in the middle of finals, for which I had been stressing and studying for in between job interviews, presentations and of course, exams. So, when I got the email about the award it kind of balanced how I was feeling about everything. It made me realize that all my hard work does pay off and that even though I'm not the smartest person out there, I can still contribute to this aerospace world in my own way.
What else would you like to share about your experience as UT Austin student leader?
I want to say thank you to my mentors, peers, friends, professors and the aerospace department for helping me so much these past four years. I knew going in that I wanted to become a leader in the aerospace industry—it's all I've ever wanted really—so it's nice to know that I'm headed in the right direction thanks to all of this support!
