After two years at the liberal arts college, Adam transferred to an engineering program at a prestigious technological university. He didn’t choose aerospace engineering as his major until he filled out the application. “I sat at my desk and read over the list of engineering majors, and there was only one that my eye kept coming back to. I remember as a kid enjoying anything that flew, as well as the space program.”

His engineering classes were more challenging than those he’d taken before, but he adjusted. “Having friends in my class was a huge help,” he says.

Adam’s goal is to work on rocket propulsion for space flight. After graduating, he plans to take a year off from school, using the time to work and earn money. Then he wants to return to his university for graduate school.

For Adam's family, seeing him go to college was “a big deal ... I set the bar for the rest of my family, including my little sisters, who have since gone off to college as well.”