I am Artemis: Brenda Kainz-Avery

Brenda Kainz-Avery is living a life she never thought was possible. From working a minimum wage job to now helping NASA send astronauts to the Moon—Kainz has come a long way.

Seventeen years ago, Kainz made the daunting and formidable decision to leave Guadalajara, Mexico in hopes of finding a fresh start. She was newly divorced, and a life in Seattle seemed ideal.

“I wanted to succeed outside of my marriage and I needed to be financially independent from my ex-husband,” Kainz said. “It was excruciatingly painful to leave Mexico, but I knew I deserved more and I knew there was something for me in Seattle.”

Kainz is now an exemplary representation of what grit and hard work can look like, as she approaches her 11th year working at Aerojet Rocketdyne as a lead engineering technician for the Orion Crew Module Reaction Control System propulsion thrusters and European Service Module Auxiliary engines.

After seven years of working a myriad of jobs when she arrived in Seattle—from construction to waiting tables—Kainz’s life indefinitely changed 10 years ago when an opportunity at Aerojet Rocketdyne arose.

While Kainz didn’t have professional experience in aerospace manufacturing or a college degree, she brought unique skills to the table. She was mechanically inclined, had a natural ability to easily understand how things worked, and she had taken up glass art – a hobby that involved operating complex machinery and required knowledge of motorized equipment.

Kainz is a fast learner and her progress at Aerojet Rocketdyne is just one testament to that dexterity. Over the past 10 years, she has moved from a level one assembler to a lead engineering technician. Kainz now specializes in the delicate and detailed final installation of electrical and instrumentation cables.

“Working at Aerojet Rocketdyne was a dream I never knew I could have,” Kainz said. “This job, this company, has given me opportunities I never imagined, and they have given me the ultimate reward – financial freedom and a life outside of Mexico. Here, I met my loving husband; here, I made a life for myself; and here, I’m able to help send NASA astronauts to the Moon.”

Kainz absolutely loves her job and is thankful every day she made the decision to move to Seattle, but her most proud accomplishment is showing her children that they too can dream.

“Moving to the United States was hard and very taxing, but I knew I needed to provide my children with an example of what can happen when you are a hard worker with a good work ethic,” Kainz added. “I needed to prove to them that they can dream big and, no matter where you come from, you can be part of something historic, like I now am, working with NASA to bring humans to the Moon.”