Flinn scholar joins AME, looks to outer space
Flinn Scholars (from left) Roselyn Dorell, Oliver Hoerth and Jeanette Mendoza enroll at the College of Engineering with the goal of doing meaningful work.
Roselyn Dorrell is one of 10 2025 Flinn Scholars — some of the state's highest-achieving high school seniors — who began at the University of Arizona in the fall with full tuition, mandatory fees, housing, meals and more covered, a value of more than $135,000.
Honors student Dorrell is looking to the stars for inspiration in aerospace engineering.
Flinn Scholar Roselyn Dorrell hails from Clifton, a town with a population of 3,352.
“I grew up fascinated with the stars. I would look up every night, wondering what was out there and dreaming of going up there, but I also loved to build stuff,” she said. “Aerospace engineering is where my two passions collided.”
Dorrell’s family was instrumental in her decision to become a Wildcat. Her mother graduated from the U of A with a bachelor’s in cellular and molecular biology and a master’s in clinical systems leadership.
“My dad also loves space and would teach me about different constellations and stellar phenomena. If he had gotten a degree, it would have been in astronomy,” she said.
Ultimately, Dorrell hopes to design rockets at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
She plans to join student organizations that connect her with industry professionals – including the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, the Rocket Club, and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics – while taking specialized AME courses.