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Josh Weston Pinnacle Scholarship, Martha Bayard Stevens Scholarship, and William F. Ondrick Music Scholarship recipient Monica Traupmann ’19, is able to attend Stevens and pursue her dream of innovating in the aerospace industry through chemical and materials engineering. With your help, her Senior Design group may be the first collegiate group to send a rocket to space! Learn more here.
Josh Weston Pinnacle Scholarship, Martha Bayard Stevens Scholarship, and William F. Ondrick Music Scholarship recipient, Monica Traupmann ’19, a New Jersey resident and chemical and materials engineering student feels gratitude for donor support in her Stevens career and has worked tirelessly to take full advantage of the cutting-edge programs and opportunities Stevens has offered.
During her career at Stevens, Monica has never shied away from a challenge in her course work or her extra-curricular involvement. In her five years at Stevens, she aims to earn a Bachelors in Engineering in Chemical Engineering and a Masters of Engineering in Materials Engineering. Her courses within these programs have included difficult classes such as Multivariable Calculus, Soft Matter Physics, Numerical Methods, and Organic Chemistry 1-2. While undertaking this rigorous coursework, she has continued to maintain a 3.9 GPA, achieving Dean’s List [each semester] throughout her academic career. Of her coursework, Monica shared, “Of course the subject matter can be challenging, but you’re only going to grow by challenging yourself to learn beyond what you thought you can. It’s through this process that I’ve discovered what I have a passion for, and have grown to be a more curious person. I’m grateful for not only the vast subject matter that I’ve been taught, but also what I’ve learned about learning, because that will be helpful even into the future.”
Apart from her studies, Monica also has an active role in campus life. As President of the Climbing and Mountaineering Club, Recreational Subcommittee Head in the Student Government Association, and a member of the Tau Beta Pi Honors Society, Omega Chi Epsilon Honors Society, President’s Ensemble and Stevens Choir, Monica gives of both her time and talent to the Stevens community. She has also taken advantage of the Pinnacle Scholars program to participate in Undergraduate Research in nanomaterials.
Yet of all her commitments, her latest venture has Monica the most excited. Along with eight other seniors, Monica has been working since April 2018 on a unique Senior Design Project – Castle Point Rocketry. Their team is on a mission to launch the first-ever collegiate-group-designed rocket that can pass the Karman line, 100 km in altitude, which is often considered the boundary of space. Already in competition with the several schools pursuing this goal, Castle Point Rocketry has further raised the stakes– by utilizing new technologies, they also plan to make their rocket the most affordable rocket to ever reach space and have only about a year to do so. On the team, Monica serves as Propulsion Engineer, and heads up the coordination for social media, outreach and fundraising. Monica shared, “This project has been the single most challenging thing I’ve ever worked on, but it brings practical engineering to a whole new level. I’ve been able to apply not only what I’ve been learning in classes, but also networking, marketing, and management skills. The sense of fulfillment that such a long-term, applied project brings is intense and exhilarating.”
Her team’s efforts in fundraising have already gotten them nearly to their $100,000 fundraising goal. Thanks to alumni, friends of Stevens and current students in a crowdfunding challenge in October and November 2018 they were able to raise $25,000 of that goal. Additional funds for research and development would always be appreciated. If you would like to make a gift, you can visit their giving page. To learn more about Castle Point Rocketry, you can visit cprocketry.com or follow them on Facebook and Instagram @cprocketry.
Monica’s tenure at Stevens began with a dream to tackle the most challenging coursework and to pursue a career in an innovative and dynamic field. In her few years at Stevens, Monica has taken on nearly every challenge Stevens has to offer, and she is humbled by her opportunity to do so. “Without the scholarship funding I’ve received, I would not have had the ability to discover what I am passionate about or the chance to help further this field. Without financial support for our Senior Design Project, this rocket would be completely unattainable. I want to achieve great things in my career, and Castle Point Rocketry wants to put Stevens on the map as the first college to ever send a rocket to space. I am incredibly grateful to donors for what I, and now my team, have been able to do, and so appreciative of the support that will allow me and my Senior Design Group to reach unfathomable heights! Thank you!”
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