Embry-Riddle Eagles Double Their Impact Through Defense Department Internships in Hawaii

Embry-Riddle seniors Amanda Wills and Kailea Danielson attend different campuses and don’t share the same major, but they became fast friends when they both landed competitive Department of Defense summer internships on the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi.

“I didn’t know my roommate was from Embry-Riddle too until we received our formal offer letters for the internship program and I was thrilled,” said Danielson, an Aerospace Engineering major at the Prescott Campus. “It was really fun having someone from the same university there and made the internship even more enjoyable.”

Wills, who interned as a cybersecurity analyst, in front of the Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility. (Photo: Embry-Riddle/Amanda Wills)Wills, a Computer Science major at the Daytona Beach Campus, and Danielson were selected for the DOD Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) internship program, which places students at one of 23 sites developing and testing Defense Department weapons systems, aircraft and other military technology. The 10-week program provides a stipend, housing and travel, plus security clearance. 

“This program is highly competitive, and both of us have been fortunate to be selected more than once,” said Wills.

At the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) in Kauaʻi, Wills interned as a cybersecurity analyst in the Cybersecurity division, while Danielson’s engineering internship was in the Range Safety division. Her first internship was working as a cyber software development intern at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida’s panhandle.

“I came in with no experience, but my mentor was very patient,” said Wills. “I was able to gain hands-on experience working on a cybersecurity framework, implement cybersecurity tools and do research with my mentor.”

The following year, Wills was a software engineering intern for the Boeing Company, working remotely with Embry-Riddle’s Boeing Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety and a team based in St. Louis, Missouri. This fall, she is working on cybersecurity ethics research with Dr. Raul Alejandro Vargas Acosta, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Danielson has completed internships at the Pacific Missile Range Facility for the past two summers, gaining hands-on skills in simulation testing, analysis and how to perform flight safety and risk analyses.

Danielson, who had an engineering internship in the Range Safety division, overlooks the Napali Coast at Makaha Ridge, which is part of the Pacific Missile Range Facility. (Photo: Embry-Riddle/Amanda Wills)“These experiences gave me firsthand exposure to DoD range testing and evaluation missions, and I really enjoyed both the work environment and the opportunity to apply my aerospace engineering knowledge,” said Danielson.

Besides their internship experience, Wills and Danielson share other things in common. Both of their families lived overseas for part of their childhoods. Danielson spent part of her childhood in Tahiti; Wills spent her middle and high school years in the United Kingdom.

“I grew up surfing, swimming, scuba diving and wakeboarding, basically anything that involved the ocean,” said Danielson. “I feel very fortunate to have had this upbringing, as it really shaped who I am today.”

Now, both of their families live in Hawaii. Danielson’s family moved to Kauaʻi when she was in middle school and Wills’ family now lives on the island of Oahu.

“Kailea is a Kauaʻi local, so she showed me and the other TMRC interns all the cool spots on the island this summer,” said Wills.  

Back at their respective campuses this fall, Wills and Danielson are making plans for graduation in the spring and weighing job and graduate school options.