Who We Are
We are all full-time students at York College of Pennsylvania, a small liberal arts college of around 4,000 students located in York, Pennsylvania. We are just students who have a passion for model rocketry, and who also are looking for careers in the mechanical engineering industry one day. We are a 100 percent student run club and receive little help financially from the college. This means that we have been working hard to keep are dreams alive and compete in the NASA Student Launch Competition next year. We want to make this program work and also show our skills on a national level.
Meet the Team
Kyle Abrahims (Team Captain)Kyle is a full-time sophomore mechanical engineering major at York College of Pennsylvania who has competed on some of the biggest stages on the national model rocketry circuit. An avid model rocketry builder since age 10, he was a member of the Spring Grove Area High School team from 2011-2015 that competed in both the Team America Rocketry Challenge and the NASA Student Launch Initiative. In 2015, he captained his Team America Rocketry Challenge team to an 8th place national finish out of over 1000 teams nationwide. In 2015, he was also the captain of the Spring Grove Area High School team that won the national championship in the high school division of the NASA Student Launch Program. He brings a wealth of knowledge to the team from these previous endeavors and hopes to continue his success at York College. He knows that with time, our team can be competing for the national championship.
Saumil Patel (Rocket Design)Saumil is a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Tremonton, Utah. He is the secretary of the NASA Student launch club here at YCP. He chose mechanical engineering because engineering is in every aspect of our lives and engineering is one of the only fields where failure is not the end. Engineers learn from their failures and the more they fail, the closer they are to the solution. He has always enjoyed learning about aerospace related topics and that is exactly what interested me in this club. He really enjoys learning more about rockets and this club has taught him a lot.
Jacob van Brunt (Tech. Design/ Safety Officer)
Jacob is a sophomore student at York College of Pennsylvania studying mechanical engineering. Jacob is the designated safety officer for the club as well. Jacob’s previous engineering experience comes from being a member of his high school’s First Robotics club where he loved making and building parts. This will be Jacob’s first year being a part of a rocket club he hopes to learn as much as he can and be able to use what he learns this year in his future career.
Blake Patches (Rocket Construction)
Blake is a freshman majoring in Mechanical Engineering. In his free time, he enjoys reading, driving, working on cars, and computer programming. He has done hobby model rocketry for several years and is excited to learn more advanced rocketry techniques and participate in a high-level competition.
Vincent Ruggiero (Recovery Subsystem)
Vincent is a freshman mechanical engineering major at York College of Pennsylvania. He is from Berlin, New Jersey. He chose mechanical engineering because of a love he had for understanding moving pieces in everyday objects combined with a skill for mathematics. He was in a robotics club in high school so building things from scratch with a goal in mind has always been fun for him, and he is eager to continue with a harder challenge in college.
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Eric Goodwill (Payload Lead)Eric Goodwill is a senior electrical engineering student at York College of Pennsylvania. He is currently the leading electrical engineer for the payload design and integration. Eric is also the leading electrical engineer on the FSAE team at York College. Apart from school, Eric enjoys riding and working on motorcycles in his free time.
Tanner Matthews (Rocket Design)
As a student of York College, Tanner is studying mechanical engineering. His extracurricular activities include Ultimate frisbee, carpentry, and drawing among other things. The reason Tanner joined the NASA SL club is because for years he has had a fascination with the aerospace industry. When I saw that he could be a part of that community he jumped at the opportunity. Also, he really enjoys building whether it’s carpentry or something else, and this is a great experience to do more. Lastly, being an engineering student it gives Tanner the opportunity to practice his skills and develop as a professional.
Benjamin Shoenfelt (Payload)Benjamin is a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Navarre, Ohio. Ben chose to be a mechanical engineer because his uncle and father are engineers. Their careers and their work has always fascinated him and has pushed him into the field of engineering. He chose mechanical for its diversity throughout all the disciplines of engineering and he plans to pursue a career in mechanical design.
Cassidy Vaartjes
(Educational Engagement) Cassidy is a freshman mechanical engineering major at York College. She is very excited to be a part of the NASA launch team because she finds aerospace engineering fascinating, and hopes to pursue a career in the field. She feels that engineering is an important job because of the many impacts it has on everyday life. Among other things, she enjoys art, as well as sewing, knitting, and crafting in general. As a senior in high school, Cassidy was involved with the Sub Club and led the girl’s Electrathon America Go Kart race team under a friendly class competition of girls verses boys. She has also had experience working in a rod shop with her dad.
Joe Romeo (Rocket Construction)Joe is a freshman mechanical engineering major from Buena, New Jersey. Joe choose mechanical engineering because he enjoys designing and making parts. In his free time, he enjoys outdoor activities such as fishing, kayaking, and spending time with his family. Being fascinated with rocketry, he has experience with model rockets, and is excited to learn more.
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