As a young girl, Shanell Sinclair dreamed of becoming an aerospace engineer working for NASA. Then, as she was growing up in rural Montana, achieving that career seemed increasingly remote. But today Sinclair’s dream is no longer up in the clouds. Now a junior at Montana State University majoring in mechanical engineering and minoring in aerospace engineering/mechatronics, she is closer than ever to making her dream come true.

How does it work? For John Desjarlais, that question led him to a concentration in mechanical engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. Still, he didn’t come to that decision until several years after high school, so he was 31 by the time he completed his first degree. Desjarlais, Cree-Métis, had already earned a certificate in radiation environmental monitoring and worked professionally. But his childhood interest in the physical world and how things move — how they work — coupled with his enjoyment of math and physics, brought him back to mechanical engineering.

Mechanical engineer Jacob Belin enjoys understanding how things work. He’s discovered he also likes being part of a team that looks for innovative ways to create new solutions. Even though he’s just 24, Belin is a propulsion systems engineer for Stellantis, a leading global automaker whose brands include Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Opel, and Ram. So far, his path has included some trial and error and conscious effort — with a little help from AISES summer internships.