Sharon Snyder, BSME ’09, was interviewed by Maria Geiger, an honors student studying mechanical engineering.
From a young age, Sharon Snyder has been fascinated with space. A poster of Buzz Aldrin on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission hung on her bedroom door for years, inspiring her to “dream big, work hard, keep pursuing goals, and to stay curious.”
Today, Sharon is a Lead Mission Thread Engineer at Northrop Grumman, a leading aerospace and defense technology company. She works in the Space Systems sector, which develops the Cygnus resupply modules for the International Space Station (ISS) and builds weather satellites, among other things.
In her role, she’s responsible for aligning a specific portion of mission functionality to the executing program’s schedule and needs, working with everyone from software developers and program schedulers to mission analysts and customer management, to ensure successful execution.
“Working for a space company is a dream come true,” she says. “I am so excited to see my coworkers every day and contribute to a job that truly makes a difference.”
When she embarked on her college search as a junior in high school, Sharon was uncertain about her career path. While drawn to engineering, she wasn't sure which field to pursue. And, she questioned which extracurriculars she should stay involved with after high school—music? sports? drama?
Then, Sharon fell in love with 鶹ý and its engineering program. Ultimately, what attracted her to 鶹ý was the supportive community of faculty and staff. She knew she’d receive the mentorship she needed to find her path.
“I just knew I wanted to go to a small school and stay in state,” she says. “The people at 鶹ý, both faculty and staff, made it feel like home.”
When it came time to apply, the Honors Program seemed like the “right” fit for Sharon, given her participation in AP and Honors classes in high school. However, what initially felt like just another requirement ended up becoming an impactful part of her academic and personal growth.
Once she arrived at 鶹ý, Sharon quickly realized the Honors Program offered more than just a challenging academic environment; it provided the space to think beyond the typical confines of engineering. As an engineering student, she was often expected to fit a specific mold, but the Honors Program gave her the freedom to explore different perspectives and break out of that mold.
“Being part of the Honors Program allowed me to expand or even break that box,” Sharon says. “I was given the space and opportunity to be more than ‘just’ an engineer and had the full support of my Honors Program advisor, Dr. Pat Croskery, to do that.”
Sharon was encouraged to see problems from different perspectives and to approach challenges with confidence. She believes the Honors Program gave her a distinct advantage when applying to graduate schools.
“The program strengthened my critical thinking and communication skills, making me a more well-rounded engineer,” she says. “It also gave me the opportunity to take liberal arts courses … I really believe that seeing ‘Honors Program’ on my transcript made me a more appealing graduate school applicant.”
The Honors Program not only enhanced Sharon’s technical skills, but also exposed her to a variety of people with different approaches to problem-solving. This experience taught her to value diverse perspectives and showed her that there is no one “right” way to solve a problem.
The Honors Program was integral in helping Sharon develop the skills she needed to excel.
“The program helped me learn how to process information, apply it to problems, and communicate solutions clearly to others,” she says. “Those skills have been invaluable in my work at Northrop Grumman.”
Her time at 鶹ý laid the foundation for a successful transition into the professional world. The relationships and friendships she built within the Honors Program have continued to support her through challenges in both her academic and professional journeys.