Class Acts: Miles Petersen
Despite rocky takeoff, Petersen was able to soar at WashU, thanks in part to finding his people
To some people, an airplane symbolizes getting away, maybe even escape, but Miles Petersen has a different perspective.
“I think flying is pretty incredible. Seeing a plane flying above me is just magical,” he said. But he doesn’t imagine getting away from it all. “Planes play a positive role in today’s world,” he said. “They connect people. They bring families together.”
Petersen expects to graduate this spring with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the McKelvey School of Engineering and — no surprises here — a minor in aerospace engineering.
For Petersen, planes connect him to fellow aerospace enthusiasts; they connect his life in St. Louis to his friends and family back in his native Delaware; and planes connect his past to his future, a future working at aerospace giant Boeing Co. in Seattle.
Petersen cannot recall a time when he wasn’t crazy about planes. “I’ve always loved the window seat,” he said. In high school, he asked for an aerospace engineering textbook for his birthday — a book he still has within arm’s reach.
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