The Patti Grace Smith Fellowship, a non-profit program helping bring long-overdue diversity to the US aerospace industry, has announced its inaugural class of Fellows. 43 Black undergraduate students – each currently enrolled in the first or second year of a bachelor’s degree program or in associate’s degree program – have earned their place in the Class of 2021 after a fair and rigorous three-round selection process in which each candidate was thoroughly vetted by a group of aerospace industry professionals, rising star early career employees, and corporate employers.

Black students interested in aviation and space exploration now have a new pathway to a successful aerospace career in the form of a new program called the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship. Announced for the first time today, the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship will provide extraordinary Black undergraduates with paid summer internships at many of the nation’s leading aerospace companies and non-profits, along with both executive-level and near-peer mentorship, a vibrant community of like-minded Black students and professionals, and cash grants of approximately $1,000 to go towards work or school or expenses.