I spent 3 incredible days attending the AIAA ASCEND conference from the 22nd of July to the 25th of the same month, and I can say that I was astonished by the scale of the event. This event was held at the Caesars Forum in Las Vegas, NV. The event hosted many brilliant minds from the aerospace industry and big companies such as NASA, and even the Army and the Air Force had a panel in this event.
But not everything was about big companies and going to mars or the moon, smaller institutes and colleges also presented their own research in a variety of topics, such as aerodynamics, thermal protections, and cybersecurity. The one I enjoyed the most was this one, the cybersecurity one. It was mostly about how Zero Trust Policy, which is a policy very common in the cybersecurity world, can be applied in both commercial flights and in the aerospace sector.
This was my first time attending one of these events and talking in front of people, but I really enjoyed this experience and would, without a doubt, do it again. Because I am still in high school, and mainly due to my inexperience with this activity, I made some mistakes, but I don't regret them. Those little mistakes and errors taught me how to improve the next time I attend these kinds of events.
Also, due to the big scale of this event, I was able to make some incredible networking and had the opportunity to meet a variety of people. I loved working alongside these people and really thank them for all the help they gave me not only in the stage where we talked, but in the event itself. Another person that I would like to thank is Michelle, thanks to her I was able not only to go to AIAA ASCEND, but to test myself to step out of my comfort zone and to talk in an environment like that one. I’m sure this experience will help me in my future and will open many doors for me.
Written by Stellar Student Aaron Estrada
