Zenith Fellow Intern, Class of 2025
University of British Columbia Okanagan - Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Engineering
Host Organization: Rocket Lab
Mentor: Kelsey Doerksen

Gurnoor always knew she was meant to traverse the skies and beyond. Her never-ending curiosity, willingness to try anything, and her parents’ unwavering support led her to explore her passions in aviation, space, and engineering. She is now pursuing her 3rd year of Computer Engineering at the University of British Columbia Okanagan.

Gurnoor found her home in the sky when she was 17 years old, when she got her private pilots license through the air cadet program. She now flies a Grumman Tiger with her club and is a Women With Wings international ambassador, inspiring young girls to pursue their journeys in aviation. She is currently pursuing a night rating, and hopes to get her float rating in the coming months. Gurnoor is also on the UBCO Can-RGX team, SpaceMENs, where she is helping develop an automated experiment to research the fluid dynamics of menstrual blood during tampon removal in microgravity. The experiment will be one of four experiments to be performed on a parabolic flight for this year’s challenge. Through SpaceMENs, she realized her passion for Bioastronautics and Space Medicine, and hopes to continue to learn more about the field and someday contribute both to health in space and on Earth. Gurnoor further fosters engineering traditions and community through her role as Vice President External of the Engineering Society at UBCO, where she represents her university’s voice on national council, and gets to travel all across Canada for conferences.

In her free time, you can find Gurnoor flying, playing music on her guitar or drums, or working on her non-profit, called Ichor, to eradicate period poverty with her two co-founders. She also enjoys expressing stories through poetry and filmmaking. Her favourite thing to do, however, is goofing around with her friends.

Gurnoor is extremely grateful for the opportunity to be part of the Zenith Canada Pathways Fellowship class of 2025, and is thrilled to be joining Sinclair Interplanetary by RocketLab this summer. She has no doubt that the stars will guide her to a bright future full of passion, learning, and giving back to the community she cherishes so much.