嘿嘿视频

From the Field to the Launchpad

Shannon 鈥淪hack鈥 Lackey (Courtesy photo)

Field hockey and aerospace engineering wouldn鈥檛 seem to go hand in hand, but Shannon 鈥淪hack鈥 Lackey has managed her love for both interests seamlessly. While she finishes up her master鈥檚 degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering, she鈥檚 also playing field hockey on 嘿嘿视频鈥 Division I team.

鈥淔ield hockey has helped me discover 嘿嘿视频, which in turn helped me realize that I really like aerospace engineering,鈥 said Lackey. 鈥淚鈥檓 very grateful for all of the people who have helped me athletically and academically.鈥

Lackey grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania, where field hockey is popular. She started playing at 8 years old.

At the same time, she nurtured her interest in STEM. She took various classes in high school that bolstered her interest in engineering and went on to study chemical engineering and biotechnology at Northwestern University. There, she also played field hockey at the Division I level. 

Shannon Lackey is a midfielder on the 嘿嘿视频 field hockey team. (Courtesy photo)

鈥淭hey only help each other,鈥 said Lackey referring to field hockey and engineering. 鈥淭he lessons I鈥檝e learned in athletics have helped me through the struggles of engineering. I don鈥檛 think I鈥檇 ever want to do one without the other.鈥

Much of Lackey鈥檚 research at 嘿嘿视频 revolves around keeping humans alive in hazardous space environments.

鈥淚鈥檓 super interested in not just sending hardware to space but sending people to space and keeping them alive up there,鈥 said Lackey. 鈥淚 just think it鈥檚 the coolest problem ever.鈥

Lackey completed a post-graduate associate engineering internship with SpaceX this past summer and worked with Dragon, SpaceX鈥檚 spacecraft that carries humans and cargo to and from the International Space Station. She said the experience definitely challenged her, but that it was ultimately rewarding to apply all of her academic interests to real-life scenarios. She received a return offer at the end of her internship and will be back on the Dragon team full-time upon graduation. 

鈥淪ometimes the magnitude of the work gets lost in the glamor of the rockets, but it鈥檚 not always glamorous,鈥 said Lackey. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of trial and error, and that鈥檚 the same in both athletics and engineering.鈥

After graduation, Lackey said that she wants to continue playing field hockey recreationally.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檒l ever stop playing field hockey, even if it鈥檚 just pick-up hockey with people in my area,鈥 Lackey explained. 鈥淎s for aerospace, it鈥檚 hard to predict where I鈥檒l be in the future, but hopefully I'm still chasing that dream.鈥

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