WVU Statler College senior ready to reach new heights

During this commencement season, we are highlighting Joe Thompson and his journey from WVU to the skies. (WVU Photo/Paige Nesbit)

A testament of institutional values, ingenuity, integrity and pride, the newest graduates of the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University are the college's living legacy. Shaped by dreams, determination and transformative educational opportunities, they leave equipped with the knowledge and skills to make an impact on the world.

Q&A with Joe Thompson and Laney Eichelberger, storyteller/writer
Photos supplied and by Brian Persinger, Megan Rinker and Paige Nesbit

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.-

Meet Joe Thompson, a mechanical and aerospace engineering major from Morgantown, West Virginia. Gold and blue has run through his veins since childhood, and during his time at the Statler College, he truly embraced the values of a Mountaineer. Driven by curiosity, Joe's journey began as a little boy wondering how planes flew. During his time at Statler, he learned more than aerodynamics - he led the Design, Build, Fly competition team, served as a dedicated mentor, and shared his drive for engineering as a Statler Ambassador.

Join us as we learn more about Joe, a member of the Class of 2025.

What first sparked your interest in STEM, engineering or computer science? Was there a person, class or experience that ultimately pushed you toward the Statler College?

When I was a little kid, my mom and I would go to the amusement park. One time, when we went to the pool, they had a big slide, probably two or three stories high. I was sitting there on a little beach towel, looking at it like, 'Man, there's water that somehow gets up there.' I'm like four or five sitting there, trying to ask my mom questions, like, 'How is it getting water all the way up there?' She tries to explain it, but would be like, 'Hey, you should just go be a kid. Don't worry about how it works.' I was always interested in how things worked. So what eventually pushed me toward the Statler College was multiple things. For one, I'm from Morgantown, so I saw WVU as home - I bleed gold and blue. But the Statler College specifically because of the financial incentives, and also because a lot of people that I know have gone here and have been very successful in their endeavors.

What inspired you to pursue your major within the Statler College over other programs or universities?

What I ended up choosing was chemical and aerospace engineering. Originally, I just wanted to do aerospace engineering, mainly because, as a young kid, I looked up to the sky and wondered how helicopters, planes, and rockets worked. It was beyond an interest for me. I knew I had to do something with it. At the end of my high school career, I started to get bad eyesight, so I knew I couldn't become a pilot. I kind of got to the next best thing- being able to design the stuff. I love math and physics, so I knew aerospace engineering would be a great fit for me. I chose mechanical engineering alongside that mainly for job security. The market for aerospace engineering is a swing market, so sometimes there's a really big desire for aerospace engineers, and sometimes there's not. So I found that, with the extreme overlap with mechanical and adding an extra semester for myself because I knew I wanted to do aerospace - it was a pretty good deal that I'm able to get two engineering degrees. Even if the aerospace market for jobs isn't great, I'll still be able to get a job.

Can you share a project, capstone or research experience that had a lasting impact on you or helped shape your career path?

A really big project I've had across both of my majors was Design, Build, Fly. This past year, I was the chief engineer, so I was the head honcho. That really helped me shape my career path and see that there are many, many different lights at the end of the tunnel. The skills you obtain by being involved with different student organizations isn't necessarily, 'Hey, I made a drone.' It also opens up some opportunities that show a regular employer, 'Hey, I do have the ability to work in a team. I have the ability to meet a deadline. I have the ability to make this very complex system work.' Now, I have a job with Steinert US, which is a major sensor sorting company. They have very complex, high-quality, and expensive systems, and they trust me. I've worked with UAV, I've worked with very intricate, detail-oriented systems, and they know that I'll sit down and I'll actually try to figure out what the problem is and help solve it. This definitely helped me with my skills in project management, being able to have stakeholder engagement, and teamwork. I can say about every single buzzword here, but it is definitely not a joke.

You look at these projects and you're definitely in a tunnel, but at the end of it, you're going to see the light where, 'Hey, I have all these skills and I'm able to accomplish any kind of goal that I ever put my head to.' Design, Build, Fly is the main student organization and competition team that I've been involved in, and it's definitely helped me grow. Even academically, like when you're in a new class and you're trying to understand all these new concepts, it's a lot easier to understand them when you're starting with some baseline knowledge. It's also helped me grow so much with my communication skills, and being able to talk with people in a professional environment. I've definitely also grown and made lots of friends through Design, Build, Fly. I'll never forget any of them-they're all ingrained in my head.

Joe with Design, Build, Fly team members and the latest plane. (Photo supplied)

If you had to pick one favorite memory from your time at Statler that sums up your overall experience, what would it be and why?

My favorite memory would be during the 2023-24 year when we went to Wichita, Kansas for Design, Build, Fly. We only had one plane, and we had enough parts to make an entirely new plane. One thing about Wichita, Kansas is that it is a very windy place. So we had to fly on an airport and the wind goes one direction. It's pretty straightforward, but it's very windy. The pilot we were using did not know how the wind was going to work, and so, I think you can probably figure out what's going to happen next - essentially, the plane crashed. We were all very devastated. That night, we had to stay up all night, and one of our professors jokingly said that the cheapest drug you can ever take is sleep deprivation. It's always very funny, but it is very true - you get very, very loopy if you don't sleep. That entire night, we did not sleep. It was probably over 36 hours we hadn't slept. We sat down and put the plane back together, and the next day, when it was our turn for the competition, we showed up, and the judges were very impressed and said, 'Hey, you guys look like you haven't slept, but you can come back with a new plane, so good job.' I think that kind of sums up Statler in general. You're not going to be pulling all-nighters all the time, because you don't have to do that, but there's a lot of work that goes into it and you feel that gratification and success after putting in that time and effort.

Design, Build, Fly plane.

What are your plans after graduation?

I have a job lined up with Steinert US, they're a sensor sorting company based just south of Cincinnati, in Walton, Kentucky. My job is to work in the application engineering department. Essentially, I will be going to their different machines and, for example, an aluminum smelting plant, they'll have sensor sorter to sort out raw versus cast aluminum - so, the company I'm working for is the one that makes the machines.

What advice would you give to incoming Statler students?

Put your mind to the grindstone. You got to keep on working, working, working. There will be tough times when you might not have the correct answer, but you will be able to find the answer from someone in the Statler College. Whether that be ELC, going to a professor's office hours, talking to your peers - there will be somebody who will be able to help you. That's a great part about the Statler College, is that everyone is there to help you. They want to help you solve your problems, they're not there to make your life worse. It is a grind, and you will find yourself struggling, and that's okay. You've just got to keep on trying and trying as much as you can.