• Brooke Owens Fellow, Class of 2022

• University of New Mexico, Bachelor of Science, Statistics, ‘22

• Host Institution: Avascent (now Oliver Wyman)

• Executive Mentor: Kristin White

• Brookie Mentor: Marlene Escobedo

Raven Otero-Symphony began reaching for the stars in the music performance halls of the University of New Mexico (UNM). Like many first-generation college students, she embodied the spirit of exploration in weaving an unlikely student career across music, policy, biostatistics, and more. Her trajectory changed overnight when she became the first New Mexican in the Brooke Owens Fellowship. Months later, she would be recognized by the New Mexico State Senate Chamber for her contributions in the space sector.

A proud nuevomexicana, Otero-Symphony was instilled with the community value to open doors (or in this industry, “make space”) for others. The Brooke Owens Fellowship ignited and emboldened her to pursue and promote careers in the space sector. In two short years, she strengthened innovation and diversity initiatives through the Grand Challenge event and statistical analysis in the Brooke Owens Fellowship; helped build the Education & Professional Development Platform in the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) to make space careers accessible worldwide; was selected for the first cohort of global leaders in the NASA Space Apps Collective; became the youngest Advisory Board member in the UNM Space Sustainable Research Grand Challenge; brought the world’s largest hackathon, the NASA Space Apps Challenge, to her hometown of Albuquerque; and more.

Professionally, Otero-Symphony developed a first-of-its-kind industry data platform at Quilty Space that served as the foundation for technology startup InsightOrca, an accomplishment that won her the Via Satellite “Rising Star” award in 2024. Otero-Symphony is most proud of her community project, SCOPE-NM, where she built a localized, space resource library and mentored students so that they, too, could (literally) reach for the stars. SCOPE-NM was featured on the local news and Otero-Symphony was recognized by the City of Albuquerque as an “Inno Under 25” awardee and “New Mexican to Know.”

From the music performance halls that made college possible, Otero-Symphony doesn’t appear to be a likely candidate for the space sector—but that’s what makes the Brooke Owens Fellowship exceptional. This is a community of explorers, risk-takers, and dreamers. This is a community that thrives in spite of the unknown. In this community, finding stardom starts with embracing and celebrating “differences.” In her case, it was the fuel that launched a notable, early career in the unlikeliest of ways.

Last Updated: July 2025