From Academy to Aerospace Innovation

Kendall Olszowka ’22 continues to reach new heights as a mechanical and aerospace engineering student at Princeton University. This summer, she led the Princeton Rocketry team in the 2025 International Rocket Engineering Competition, where her team designed and launched an eleven-foot, single-stage rocket built to reach 30,000 feet in the Texas desert. Kendall describes the experience as one of tremendous growth, from mastering complex composite manufacturing techniques to navigating the challenges of real-world engineering.

Kendall’s passion for aerospace extends far beyond competition. At Princeton, she is pursuing mechanical and aerospace engineering with a minor in French, a combination that allows her to explore both her technical and creative strengths. Hands-on coursework like “Aerospace Structures,” where she built and tested an aircraft wing in a wind tunnel, helped her further appreciate aircraft and the broader scope of aerospace innovation.

She is also deeply engaged in research, working in the bio-inspired robotics labs with her Princeton Professors, where she studies how fish swim and analyzes flow forces to better understand movement in air and water. These experiences have broadened her understanding of aerospace and sparked a growing interest in pursuing a Ph.D.

Outside of engineering, Kendall embraces her love of food, cooking, and football, running a food review account that serves as a creative outlet and balance to her academic work.

Reflecting on her journey, Kendall says “My time in robotics in Middle school and Upper school with John McNally and Mark Eisenhardt were probably the most formative for me, as it exposed me to engineering.”

When asked, John McNally shared, “I could tell when Kendall was in Middle School that she had an unwavering passion for all things engineering. Her leadership in our robotics program brought the team some of its greatest achievements in program history. I am so proud of Kendall for her continued ability to lead some of the brightest engineering minds in the world.”

Kendall’s work, leadership, and spirit exemplify the innovation and perseverance at the heart of the Albany Academy community. 

Congratulations, Kendall, we can’t wait to see where your trajectory takes you next! 
 

Read Kendall's Princeton Engineer feature