Name: Meisha Draper
Years at Lockheed Martin: 1 year
What is your current title: Systems Engineer
What are your day-to-day responsibilities: Tasked with integration testing on the F-22 platform
Why did you decide to be an engineer? “The day I found out my dad was an engineer and not a secret agent is the day I decided to follow in his footsteps.
In fifth grade I was given the ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ assignment. According to my mom, I took the assignment very seriously. My first question was what could I do with math, because I really did not enjoy English. She told me I could be an engineer like my dad.
That was the first time I realized what my dad actually did. For years he was a Technology Representative on the F-16 program. He traveled a lot, and we never really knew what he did because he couldn’t tell us. My sister and I joked he was a secret agent. What he did seemed so cool and once I learned I could be just like him, I was set on my path. My decision was reaffirmed in the success I had in the magnet programs I attended.
Being like my dad didn’t stop with being an engineer. Lockheed Martin was a part of my family since both my dad and his dad worked here. I wanted to work for Lockheed Martin too, and interning for two sessions made that decision easy for me. Through the intern program, I was exposed to Lunch and Learns, activities and tours that provided insight into all of Lockheed Martin’s business areas. I realized there were a lot of opportunities with the company.
Now, working at the Fort Worth facility, there’s moments when I’m sitting at a desk and a jet takes off from the base. It’s definitely a ‘Wow, I work on those’ moment.”
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