Saint Andrew's Student Builds Future in Aerospace Engineering

This summer, Sophia Osipov ’29 is making an impact in the aviation industry through an internship at Planestocks, where she is gaining hands-on experience while contributing to meaningful projects that support the company's growing operations.

With an interest in aerospace and engineering, Sophia took the initiative this summer to find an internship that would give her experience in these fields while also providing insight into how an aviation business operates. After researching local aviation companies, she reached out directly to Planestocks.

Throughout the summer, Sophia has taken ownership of organizing trace documentation for aircraft parts, helping provide customers with transparent visibility into inventory sourcing. She is also working alongside company leaders to implement an in-house AI application that digitizes and organizes physical documentation into structured data, improving efficiency and accessibility.

Beyond her day-to-day projects, Sophia has toured aviation facilities and connected with professionals from companies such as HEICO Corporation, AMS NDT, and GA Telesis, gaining valuable insight into careers in aerospace engineering.

The experience has strengthened her interest in engineering while showing her how innovation and technology can have a tangible impact on the aviation industry.

Sophia credits Saint Andrew's with preparing her to embrace new challenges through curiosity, perseverance, and a willingness to learn. She says that through this internship, she has developed a greater interest in the aerospace industry and is excited to keep exploring it.

“This internship definitely strengthened my interest, especially through the people I've met and the opportunity to surround myself with professionals in the field. It's been a great place to learn both the business side of the industry.” 

Working closely with Jeb Thomas, the Managing Director of Planestocks, Sophia has impressed him with her professionalism and willingness to learn.

“Sophia has been a wonderful addition to our summer internship program,” Thomas stated. “Saint Andrew's is clearly preparing students for how work actually gets done today; Sophia showed up on day one curious, technically fluent, and unafraid of a professional environment.”

As she prepares to return to campus this fall, Sophia looks forward to applying everything she has learned as she continues exploring the intersection of aerospace, software, and engineering.