Kenrick Waithe grew up in South Ruimveldt, Guyana and today he is an Engineer at Colorado-based startup Boom. Waithe creates computer-based simulations of supersonic passenger flights so that one day they will become a reality.
“We’re trying to build a supersonic airliner that’s economically viable, the way that the Concorde was not,” he said. Formerly an Engineer at Gulfstream, Lockheed Martin and NASA; It was in the eighth grade when he was accepted into the Oliver Scholars program whose mission is getting promising Latino and Black students from low-income New York City neighbourhoods into elite schools and universities.
Oliver Scholars helped Waithe get into the prestigious Westtown Boarding School in Westtown, Pennsylvania, on a full academic scholarship. He excelled there and later got accepted into the Ivy League school, University of Pennsylvania engineering school.
Kenrick later completed a graduate studies program through NASA and George Washington University called the Joint Institute for Advancement of Flight Sciences. “That’s how I learned how fluid dynamics, while on the job,” he said.
Waithe, who is now 41 years old, earned his master’s in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronomical Engineering at George Washington University while working with NASA Scientists at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
Kenrick is an example of what is possible when Guyanese children have access to a great education and opportunity. Guyana is proud of your Kennrick and we salute you for your outstanding achievements.
