Edmee CR Hasler
Contributing writer
Rebecca Kelller grew up in Salem and graduated from Glenvar High School in 2014. Keller has family in Salem including her parents, grandparents, cousin, and aunt. Growing up she played many sports but chose competitive baton twirling as her focus.
She competed both regionally and nationally throughout the years at various levels. At Glenvar High school, she was the feature twirler throughout all four years and continued on as feature twirler for the Marching Virginians at Virginia Tech her first two years in college.
Growing up surrounded by engineering influences, Keller always knew she had a passion for science. Her parents inspired her to become an engineer because of her love for math and science. “It makes sense because looking back at my childhood some of my favorite activities included building wooden train sets, box forts, and helping my dad build things in his workshop,” Keller said.
Little did she know, this passion would one day lead her to become the first female Aerospace Engineer for NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), breaking barriers in the traditionally male-dominated field.
Keller reflected on her journey, explaining how it all began. “My dad is an electrical engineer, and growing up, I was always math and science-minded,” Keller shared. “I didn’t know much about engineering at first, but I was fascinated by building things – from wooden train sets to designing roller coasters in computer games.”
Encouraged by her parents, Keller chose to pursue engineering at Virginia Tech, one of the top engineering schools in Virginia. “I grew up going to Virginia Tech football games, and it was just a no-brainer for me to go there,” she said. At the university, she decided to focus on aerospace engineering, driven by her love for aviation. “I flew with my dad when I was 13, and that experience truly unlocked a passion for aviation.”
“When I got to Virginia Tech, I was between Mechanical engineering and Aerospace engineering but my interest in aviation made the decision easy for me. Since then I’ve developed a true passion and love of aviation. After school, I worked as an aircraft maintenance support engineer on a maintenance, repair, and overhaul line for Navy and Marine Corps aircraft before taking my job with the NOAA Hurricane Hunters.” Keller explained
After graduating, Keller worked for the Navy as a civilian aircraft maintenance engineer. She described the experience as invaluable, saying, “It was very hands-on. I got to climb on aircraft and see the inner workings, which is something you don’t get from theory alone. That experience helps me so much in my career today.”
Keller’s career took a major turn when she landed her dream job as an aerospace engineer with NOAA’s Hurricane Hunters team. “I just couldn’t believe it was a real job,” she recalled with excitement. “When I got the offer, I packed up my things and moved to Florida two years ago. It’s been an incredible journey.”
Keller works for the NOAA Hurricane Hunters as an Aerospace Engineer at NOAA’s Aircraft Operations Center. Her aerospace engineering job is to “design, analyze, flight test, and configure modifications that instrument scientific research equipment onto NOAA’s aircraft” Keller said.
“The crazy side of my job is that during hurricane season I help support our hurricane missions as an aircrew member by operating the airborne vertical atmospheric profiling system (AVAPs) where I release expendables that gather weather data in the storm environment,” Keller said.
Keller supports hurricane missions by operating equipment that collects weather data during storms. “I fly on P-3 Orions and Gulfstream GIV planes. The P-3s fly through hurricanes at 10,000 feet to find the storm’s center, while the GIV flies above the storm to gather data. This helps improve forecasts for where the storm will hit and how strong it will be. We also use the GIV to study atmospheric rivers in the winter over Hawaii,” Keller said.
As NOAA’s first female aerospace engineer, Keller is breaking new ground. She acknowledged the significance of her role, saying, “I didn’t realize I was the first until I got here. But now I see the importance of being a role model for other young women. Hopefully, it inspires more girls to join STEM fields.”
Her work at NOAA is diverse, from supporting hurricane missions to conducting atmospheric research. “We modify aircraft to carry instruments for various scientific studies, whether it’s measuring snow depths, monitoring mammals, or collecting air samples,” Keller explained. Recently, she was part of a high-profile mission covered by CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “It was such a cool experience to be interviewed and show my family what I do on national television.” “CNN’s Gary Tuchman did the story on the NOAA hurricane Hunters and joined us on one of our flights during Hurricane Lee”, Keller recounted. “I was one of our AVAPs Operators during that flight and was interviewed for the piece. During hurricane season our PR team does a lot of coordination with the media where we have flown with members of Good Morning America, CNN, and countless other news stations across Florida and the US.
Despite being a trailblazer in her field, Keller remains humble. “I’m used to being the only woman on the team, but it’s great to see more female pilots and meteorologists at NOAA,” she said. “Our Aircraft Operations Center is unlike anywhere else I’ve worked.”
As for her future in Florida, Keller is keeping an open mind. “I moved here thinking it was an adventure, and I don’t have an end in sight,” she said. “This job has opened up so many doors I never expected.”
Keller’ story is a testament to perseverance and passion, serving as an inspiration for future generations of female engineers.
