Ilsa Mroz didn’t let her difficulty in math class hold her back from her dream of working in space.
Mroz grew up watching Star Wars and Star Trek, and hiking in remote areas “where I felt much closer to the sky than anywhere else,” she said. As she got older, however, struggles with mathematics put her dream of being an astronaut in doubt.
A way in: Mroz, however, was undeterred. Determined to find a way to work in the space industry, she leaned into her strengths of talking to people and undertaking political science, and found a place working in space and science policy.
“Don’t try to fit yourself into a box you think you have to fit yourself into, to do something that you love. If you are not good at math, that’s ok. You can still find a way to work to your strengths,” she told Payload. “People think they have to be an engineer to work in space.”
Next steps: Mroz went to DC for a policy internship at the Aerospace Industries Association, which turned into her post-grad job. She’s now a regulatory affairs manager at Planet Labs, where she helps the company navigate the licensing process for its EO satellites.
“It’s what gets me out of bed in the morning,” she said. “[I] love to see a farmer in Nebraska be able to more efficiently harvest this year, because my satellite took a cool picture for him. That’s been really gratifying.”
And that’s not all: Mroz is also a very active volunteer in the industry. She was recently nominated to serve as executive director of the Institute of Space Commerce, which is a nonprofit aiming to be a thought leader in the space industry. She also volunteers with her local Women in Aviation International chapter, and provides mentorship to fellows from a handful of prominent programs that support diversity in the industry.
