Mines alum uses her aerospace career to give back and help inspire others

By Cynthia Barnes, Special to Mines Magazine

Libby Booton ’16 had been on a path to Mines since a second-grade field trip, but it was a chance encounter during her first year that set her on a course toward space. 

“We were at Mines to see the Geology Museum,” she recalled. “And my second-grade teacher said, ‘You really like math and science, and you’re really good at it. You should go to Mines someday.’ And that just stuck.” 

“Mines just kind of reappeared, throughout my life,” she said. Both an uncle and a childhood friend’s father were Mines alumni, and Booton had spent time on campus in high school while participating in the Science Olympiad. She was accepted into Mines with a scholarship just before Christmas as a high school senior. But then she had to decide where her path would lead from there. 

“How I got into aerospace is probably my favorite story ever,” said Booton. “I was in my differential equations class freshman year, and a classmate announced, ‘I need a girl that wants an all-expense-paid trip to Huntsville, Alabama.’” The trip was to compete in the NASA Great Moonbuggy Race, where Booton was introduced to Mines alum Penny Pettigrew ’92, who was working at NASA.

“She came running up to us at the finish line and said, ‘Oh my gosh, you're the Mines team. I’m a Mines alum. Here’s ice cold water. You did great. Let's talk about how we can improve your moonbuggy for tomorrow’s race,” Booton said. 

Pettigrew took the team to dinner with other Mines alumni and inspired Booton to set her sights on aerospace. “She's the payload communications manager, which means she talks to astronauts all day on the space station and helps them with their science,” said Booton. “That was just super cool to me. She became one of my mentors and helped me see myself in a career at NASA or another space company. That single weekend changed my entire career structure. Prior to that, I had no idea what I wanted to do. But having role models like Pettigrew and alumni volunteers helped me find my way, and the connections I’ve made have really made my career succeed. That leads me to want to continue to volunteer with students in every capacity that I possibly can find.” 

Although Mines doesn’t offer a formal aerospace degree, Booton’s engineering physics degree nonetheless opened doors and internships, including at Northrop Grumman. She eventually landed a full-time role at Lockheed Martin. 

“I started as a quality engineer working on antennas.” said Booton. “One thing I really loved about that job and what got me so hooked on the industry, was getting to be on a production floor, building hardware that was going to space. Then, ultimately, I had a GPS satellite that I’d been working on as a quality engineer that many years later made it to the launchpad. Just understanding how GPS works—it runs our maps, it helps our military and it’s also helping farmers plant their crops. It’s putting things into space, but it’s also helping people on Earth.” 

Booton is now an ardent volunteer for Mines, intent on “paying forward” the mentoring and support she received while a student. She volunteers as an advisor for the Mines chapter of Sigma Kappa sorority, gives career talks and participates in Physics Department panels. She's also volunteered at events like Commencement and Oredigger Camp, where she loves being around the students, and been involved with panels for prospective students and their parents.

“That one's super fun, too,” she said. “Parents ask, ‘What should my kid’s major be?’ And I say, engineering anything. It doesn't actually matter. Every industry needs every type of engineer. So whatever they enjoy doing the most is what they should probably major in. It doesn’t need to be an aerospace degree to be working in aerospace. We need mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, software engineers. We need everything.”