Beca STEM de Elijah Walker
EVER-EVOLVING SPACE ENTREPRENEUR
Elijah Walker sabe exactamente lo que quiere hacer, adónde quiere ir y a quién quiere llevar con él. Se podría decir que sus sueños y metas son bastante ambiciosos.
“Space entrepreneur,” explains the 25-year-old New York City native and Ventura College electrical engineering student. “Asteroid mining and space vacations.”
The way Elijah sees it, we only have so much time here on this Earth. So why not dream, live, and create big – and maybe even extend those aspirations far, far outside of Earth?
“Life is super quick,” says Elijah, whose father passed away when Elijah was just 13. “That’s why I want to strive for something great. There’s no reason people can’t have vacations on the moon. The technology exists. It’s just not been fully researched or applied…yet. I want to bring all the pieces together to manifest a better future.”
When Elijah ends up making it out there and up there, Ventura College and the Ventura College Foundation will get big-time assists. After serving as an enlisted sailor in the United States Navy from ages 18 to 24, Elijah left his final post at Naval Air Station Point Mugu and decided to stick around the area. Just as he had researched his way out of New York and into the Navy’s aviation technician program, the ambitious young entrepreneur (he already has his own creative production company) discovered that Ventura College would be the ideal landing place for the next step in his ongoing evolution.
Elijah settled into his new home in Oxnard, enrolled at Ventura College and soon landed on the Dean’s List with a perfect 4.0 during his first year. During this time, Elijah learned about the National Science Foundation and UC Santa Barbara’s ESTEEM (Enhancing Success in Transfer Education for Engineering Majors) scholarship through the Ventura College Foundation, and ended up earning one for himself.
“I’ve met amazing people,” says Elijah. “The Veteran’s Resource Center is filled with a lot of veterans who know the system, and there’s a lot of faculty who are veterans also. So they help a lot. I’m learning and enjoying myself here every day.”
Elijah also understands the vital role played by the Foundation and its personnel, programs, and donors. “I’m grateful for the Foundation,” says Elijah. “There’s a huge financial burden lifted off of me now, so I can focus, learn and excel. I’m very thankful to the Foundation for that. They give me all the opportunities that I need to be a successful student.”
Elijah plans on earning his associate’s degree and then transferring to a four-year university to complete his electrical engineering degree. Then, he’s ready to launch his second business – really launch it.
“I heard a good quote yesterday,” explains Elijah. “‘Be careful what we call impossible.’ My ultimate goal is to get into the space industry. Tesla and Halliburton are already working in this direction. I’d like to be on the forefront of that.”