Highlights
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Before arriving at UCF, aerospace engineering alum Jillian Gloria 麻豆精品 S�22 was once told she 麻豆精品 S檇 never graduate with an engineering degree and reach her goal of working in the space industry.
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Thanks to the program and hands-on research opportunities with real-world implications, Gloria carved a path for herself to sought-after jobs at United Launch Alliance and now Blue Origin.
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As a rocket scientist, Gloria is actively advancing humankind 麻豆精品 S檚 progress in developing the infrastructure for a future generation to consistently travel to and live on other celestial bodies.
Nov. 13, 2025, 3:55 p.m. Jillian Gloria 麻豆精品 S�22 stands on a balcony at Blue Origin headquarters in Cape Canaveral, Florida, her eyes fixed on the horizon at Launch Complex 36 麻豆精品 S� the very launchpad her grandfather helped construct as a NASA engineer in the 1960s.
Engines ignite. Gloria 麻豆精品 S檚 breath catches as she wills the rocket to climb. Then she hears those crucial words: 麻豆精品 S淟iftoff detected. New Glenn has cleared the tower. 麻豆精品 S�
The Blue Origin rocket scientist has just witnessed the launch of her first NASA mission. It 麻豆精品 S檚 a goal the Orlando native has dreamed about since childhood; one marked by visions of the space shuttle soaring upward as she commuted to school and the roar of sonic booms when it returned to Earth 麻豆精品 S檚 atmosphere.
What makes this milestone even more rewarding is the determination, the hard work and the relentless tenacity it took her to get here.
麻豆精品 S淵our dreams are possible, 麻豆精品 S� Gloria says. 麻豆精品 S淎ll you need is passion and persistence. As long as you keep going, you can do anything in this world. You 麻豆精品 S檙e always going to end up where you 麻豆精品 S檙e meant to be. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淵ou 麻豆精品 S檒l Never Graduate 麻豆精品 S�
Gloria 麻豆精品 S檚 college journey began outside of Florida despite the numerous space-related research and partnerships available in her backyard at UCF. Like many of her peers, she thought she had to branch out from her hometown to gain the most out of her college experience.
She realized quickly she had made a mistake.
Not long after arriving at the University in Texas at Arlington, an academic advisor told her she would never graduate with an engineering degree if she started her academic career in algebra. She would need an additional 1.5 years of math and science classes alone before she could set foot in an engineering class.
Rather than catch up on the mathematics education and credits she needed to pursue engineering, he advised she 麻豆精品 S檇 be better off going after 麻豆精品 S渟omething more realistic for her current path like a business degree. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淎s an impressionable 18-19 year old, you listen to your adviser, right? 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淚 just remember dropping the business class a few weeks in because I thought, 麻豆精品 S楾his is not what I want to do, and I don 麻豆精品 S檛 care how long it takes me, I 麻豆精品 S檓 going to do get an engineering degree. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S�
Opportunity Comes Calling
She course-corrected and enrolled in the program at Valencia College. Valencia provided her the academic resources and tutoring she needed to overcome her initial struggles in math and science.
In 2018 ahead of transferring to UCF, she applied to the Central Florida Physics Research Exchange Program, a former initiative for undergraduate students to participate in a 10-week funded research project over the summer with UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 physics department.
She remembers doubting her chances of acceptance. After all, she was an aspiring aerospace engineer, not a true physics major. But the program came with the promise of $5,000, and for someone who was working her way through school, what did she have to lose?
As part of her application, she wrote a compelling letter to Professor of Physics William Kaden about his space weathering effects research for NASA and how much she 麻豆精品 S檇 love the chance to work in his lab.
The letter worked. Kaden would go on to become Gloria 麻豆精品 S檚 mentor throughout her 2.5 years at UCF and kickstarted her hand in research that yielded projects on finding water on the moon, collaborations with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), work with UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 and a co-authorship on a NASA-funded paper published in 2021 in the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology.
麻豆精品 S淭he world of research at UCF really provided me the actual work experience and opportunities to turn me into an engineer and a candidate that these companies sought after. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Jillian Gloria 麻豆精品 S�22, Blue Origin engineer
麻豆精品 S淭he world of research at UCF really provided me the actual work experience and opportunities to turn me into an engineer and a candidate that these companies sought after, 麻豆精品 S� says Gloria, who keeps her senior-year textbook Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Propulsion, Second Edition on her office desk. 麻豆精品 S淚 worked with industry hardware, a vacuum chamber that 麻豆精品 S檚 worth hundreds of thousands of dollars at NASA, flew a payload on a Masten Space Systems Xodiac rocket to track rocket plumes during launch and landing on the moon. I was a published author before I graduated. It all was such an amazing opportunity. That was the first time when I felt like I was actually doing the work I had dreamed about. The things I was exposed to at UCF really just opened my eyes onto what 麻豆精品 S檚 available out there in terms of my career. 麻豆精品 S�
Building a Road to Space
Since graduating in 2022, Gloria launched over a dozen successful missions across three launch-vehicle programs (Atlas V, Delta Heavy, Vulcan Centaur) at United Launch Alliance as a propulsion systems test engineer.
In January 2025, she joined the Blue Origin team as an integrated vehicle test engineer, specializing in the integration, testing, refurbishment, and optimization of complex fluid and pneumatic systems for her fourth launch vehicle, New Glenn.
In other words, she validates the build of the rocket, ensuring its integrity and functionality through every build stage before launch.
She is energized every day by the opportunities available to her to grow and learn within the company, who in addition to their rocket program is also developing a lunar lander and space station.
麻豆精品 S淭his work matters. It 麻豆精品 S檚 the future. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Jillian Gloria
麻豆精品 S�We 麻豆精品 S檙e all working together for the benefit of Earth, and you feel it every day you go to work at Blue Origin, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淭his work matters. It 麻豆精品 S檚 the future, it 麻豆精品 S檚 the next generation launch vehicle, and it just plays a hand in Blue 麻豆精品 S檚 mission statement that we want to build a road to space. 麻豆精品 S�
Every milestone they hit 麻豆精品 S� like the recent successful launch and first-time landing of the New Glenn rocket that ferried NASA 麻豆精品 S檚 twin ESCAPADE spacecraft to begin their journey to Mars 麻豆精品 S� helps get them closer to that goal.
While current generations may not see it, she knows the work she is doing at Blue Origin is developing the infrastructure for future generations who will one day consistently travel to and live on other celestial bodies.
麻豆精品 S淭he stars are the final frontier. It calls to us, 麻豆精品 S� Gloria says. 麻豆精品 S淵ou can 麻豆精品 S檛 really explain it, but when you look up at the sky, it kind of touches your soul. It just makes me feel more connected to something that 麻豆精品 S檚 so far away and so beautiful. It 麻豆精品 S檚 everything. 麻豆精品 S�
