Free Webinar!
Hot Takes & Hard Lessons: What No One Tells You About STEM, Engineering, and College Life
Insights from a German Patriot Lead Engineer from Raytheon
📅 Thursday November 6th, 2025
🕗5pm Pacific, 7pm Central, 8pm Eastern
📍Zoom

Meet Our Guest:
Amanda Van Saders - German Patriot Lead Engineer at Raytheon Technologies
*Full bio below
Applying to college for STEM and Engineering is tough. Everyone gives you the same generic advice, but what about the actual, hard lessons? What are the biggest mistakes high school students make? And what really prepares you for a demanding career once you graduate?
If you want the honest, practical truth about navigating the college application process and transitioning into a high-stakes engineering job, this webinar is for you.
Join us for an exclusive, live interview with a Raytheon German Patriot Lead Engineer. She’s gone through the rigorous process of getting into both the Penn State and Embry-Riddle’s Engineering Programs, and is now leading complex projects at one of the world's premier aerospace and defense technology companies, Raytheon.
Amanda's cutting through the fluff to share the insights you won't find on any college and Career website.
What You Will Learn:
Stop worrying about what you think you need to do and start focusing on what actually matters. In this 60-minute session, you will learn:
- The Real Factors: Which parts of your college application and resume (grades, extracurriculars, essays) actually made a difference in getting accepted to top engineering programs and hired by one of the world's premier aerospace and defense technology companies.
- The University-to-Career Gap: What her college education failed to prepare her for, and the skills you should prioritize now to succeed in the engineering industry.
- The Raytheon Reality: Candid insights into the day-to-day life as a Lead Engineer working on the high-profile German Patriot Program.
- Hard Lessons & Hot Takes: The biggest non-academic mistakes she made in college, the career moves she would never repeat, and most importantly the best decisions she made along the way.
Don't miss this chance to hear an unfiltered perspective from a successful professional at Raytheon. Space is limited.
Can’t attend live? Register anyway and we’ll send the full replay straight to your inbox.
More About Amanda:
Born and raised in a small mountain town in Upstate New York – Amanda Van Saders grew up surrounded by stars and endless curiosity. She is an aerospace engineer, storyteller, and mentor who believes that the most powerful thing we can build isn’t just technology — it’s connection. She graduated from her small high school of 72 students, taking every advanced course she could before heading to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to chase her dream of becoming an aerospace engineer. That curiosity of the stars turned into a lifelong passion for engineering, problem-solving, and helping others see that STEM isn’t reserved for the few — it’s for anyone brave enough to chase what feels impossible.
At Embry-Riddle, Amanda joined Greek Life and fought her way through the engineering program to graduate with her Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering. Her perseverance paid off when she began her career at Raytheon, where she interned on Standard Missile-3 Block IIA and later returned as an intern on Standard Missile-3 Block 1B MOD, which led to a full-time role on the Standard Missile-3 TUTR Program. From there, she rose through the ranks — earning promotions on Next Generation Interceptor and Glide Phase Interceptor, where she secured a near 20% raise and Principal Engineer title. Today, Amanda blends technical precision with creative vision to solve real-world challenges on the German Patriot Program. But behind the polished job title is a woman who remembers exactly what it felt like to be figuring it all out — balancing coursework, imposter syndrome, and the pressure to have it all together while still trying to find her place. With her signature mix of authenticity, warmth, and wit, Amanda is redefining what it means to “make it” in engineering — reminding others that success isn’t about perfection; it’s about persistence, purpose, and staying human in a world built on systems.
99 %
Acceptance Rate
7 x
More Likely into Top Schools
480 +
Ivy League Acceptances
1400 +
Top 30 Acceptances
