From Mass Academy to the Launch Pad: Shreya Bhattacharjee Thomas ’19

Not all futures are planned - some are discovered. MAMS alumn Shreya Bhattacharjee Thomas ’19 shares how her experience at MAMS shaped her career path, along with advice for current students. 

Now a propulsion engineer at United Launch Alliance (ULA), Shreya works on aerospace systems that help power rockets into space. But her path to aerospace engineering wasn’t straightforward.

“Before joining Mass Academy, I wanted to be a lawyer.”

Shreya describes how she initially planned on a completely different career. However, after enrolling at Mass Academy and attending a space summer camp through school, her interests began to shift.

“I just fell in love with the problems.”

While she had always been drawn to computer science, something about engineering problems - especially the mechanical and physics-based challenges - resonated more deeply.

“I was not very apt to debug things, I just wanted to code things, so since then I have gotten more into the mechanical side.”

Through access to advanced WPI courses and in-school projects such as Apps for Good, her curiosity only grew.

“The exposure I got to math and physics ignited an excitement for engineering generally… Mass Academy is a huge part of why I am an engineer today.”

Mass Academy didn’t just change what she wanted to study - it changed how she saw herself.

“I was seeing my friends be able to learn things and do things that a month before they didn’t even think [were] possible.”

Being immersed in an environment of highly motivated peers was transformative.

That growth mindset carried into college at University of Texas Austin and eventually into her role at ULA. Working at an esteemed aerospace organization is demanding. Tight deadlines, high expectations, and immense responsibility are part of the job. Handling that pressure requires more than technical skill.

“The biggest catalyst has been finding something outside of work that also drives my passion.”

“And for me, that’s been yoga. I’m a yoga teacher.”

For Shreya, teaching yoga became more than a hobby - it became a grounding activity.

“And I think that is huge when you are handling stress. Because if you don’t have something that you personally have control over and are passionate about and can do something for, it can be hard to try and find that meaning.”

She emphasizes that creativity in engineering doesn’t exist in isolation.

“Because ultimately, when you start thinking about it in engineering, we are looking very logically, but you need the creativity to have innovation. And that creativity, that muscle comes from other hobbies outside of work. So the more you exercise your hobbies, the more you'll actually have that ability to bring in innovative ideas at work.”

When asked for two pieces of advice she would give to current MAMS students, Shreya didn’t hesitate.

“Build systems. Build systems early and build them strong.”

She explained that strong personal systems - whether that means time management strategies, structured routines, or organizational habits - are essential for long-term success.

“Because ultimately, if you are not able to handle your workload right, and be able to say no to things because you do not have capacity for it, you are going to start setting yourself up for failure very quickly. And as high achievers, we find it hard to say no to things.”

Her second piece of advice centered on internal growth.

“Also, make sure that you're prioritizing time for self-development and self-reflection. Ultimately, no one else is going to have the answers for you.”

“Over time, advice can often be noise and or a lack of self-trust. And when you're making the time for that self-reflection and self-development, you're naturally going to build that trust within yourself. You're also going to start knowing when to filter out advice and when to start listening to yourself more.”

From aspiring lawyer to propulsion engineer, Shreya’s story is not one of sudden clarity, but of exploration, adjustment, and growth. It’s proof that plans can change - and that sometimes the most impactful shifts happen when you simply “fall in love with the problems.”

For current MAMS students staring down deadlines, balancing extracurriculars, and questioning their own paths, Shreya’s journey offers reassurance: growth isn’t always linear, stress is manageable with intention, and the systems - and passions - you build now may very well fuel your future.