Hannah Spangle on Ohio State's Columbus campus.
Lunch-break rocket launches inspired Hannah
Thanks to donors like you, her future is taking flight.
Not many people can say they have watched rockets launch — up close — on their lunch break. But Hannah Spangle can. She never missed a chance while interning at the Kennedy Space Center.
“I’d jump in my car, drive down the causeway and sit on the bleachers with a sandwich and a good view to watch, sometimes once or twice a week,” says Hannah, who graduated from Ohio State in May with an aerospace engineering degree from the College of Engineering.
Born a Buckeye at University Hospital, Hannah grew up in Bexley with her twin brother and worked at her family’s flower shop just south of the Oval. Choosing Ohio State was both natural and intentional. “I have a deep connection to Ohio State and always imagined myself going here because I love the community.”
A campus tour led by her dad, along with Ohio State’s standout aerospace program, affirmed what already felt like home. Hannah also knew putting two children through college at the same time would be a challenge for her parents.
Thanks to generous donors, Hannah is one step closer to achieving her dream of joining the astronaut program. For her, the sky is not the limit — it is just the beginning.
Send congrats to recent grad Hannah!
You can share congratulations with Hannah right after her walk across the commencement stage. Let her know you’re cheering her on!
Hannah poses with the Artemis II SLS Rocket.
A co-op experience at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center — where she worked on the Artemis program — along with a glowing recommendation from a mentor, helped Hannah land the position at Kennedy. At Ohio State, she participated in student organizations and initiatives, which provided the hands-on learning, professional development and networking opportunities she needed. She also worked as a teaching and research assistant on campus.
Each of those experiences built on the last, positioning Hannah where she is today — and she says, were made possible because of donors. “I still worked part-time, but with scholarships, I could put less time into those jobs and more time doing things that could help build my resume.”
“Getting a scholarship is literal proof that people see your potential to succeed. That alone is a really great motivator.”
The personal bonds she built also fueled her momentum. “The Ohio State connections you make have a huge ripple effect,” Hannah says. “Those relationships open doors and expand what you can achieve.” One such influence is Ronald Parker, PhD, in the College of Engineering’s Office of Community, Access, Retention and Empowerment (CARE), who supported her from the beginning and wrote a letter that helped secure the NASA internship.
Now Hannah is launching into an exciting new phase, having accepted a position as a thermal analyst at Kennedy Space Center. Because of donors like you, her path is clearly on an upward trajectory.
Hannah stands in front of a wall at the Kennedy Space Center.
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