Launching a career and the largest telescope into space
In 2021, Adam Marquardt ’20 stood inside a clean room in Kourou, French Guiana, unloading and then performing the final hardware checks on the James Webb Space Telescope. On December 25, 2021, after working on the telescope for 18 months, he watched as the largest telescope in space launched into L2 orbit.
Just 18 months earlier, Marquardt graduated with an engineering degree from Calvin University, which would prove to be the perfect launchpad for his career.
When Marquardt, who is now an optomechanical engineer and engineering manager at Northrop Grumman, arrived at Calvin in the fall of 2016, he wouldn’t have thought he was anywhere near ‘ready for takeoff.’
“I’ve never been the quickest learner or smartest person in the room,” said Marquardt. “Learning has always been hard. I’ve had to put in a lot of work to understand something.”
Seeking and finding support
That challenge shaped his college search. If he was going to succeed, he knew he couldn’t do it alone—he needed people who would come alongside him.
He found that at Calvin. A phone call and handwritten letter from an engineering professor signaled something different: a commitment to walk with him, not just teach him.
Once on campus, perception became reality. One professor he said was especially influential was Professor Matt Heun, whom he had for thermodynamics and as his advisor during his internship with the Calvin Energy Recovery Fund.
“He was more than willing to take time out of his day to help me understand the concepts,” said Marquardt. “He became a go-to person for both academic and professional questions and he helped mentor me and prepare me for industry. I still speak with him regularly.”
Discovering professors really care
Beyond the value his professors provided to his professional trajectory was how they deeply cared. Marquardt remembers a specific instance during his junior year when he and his classmates were working in the lab late into the night on a big project, and Professor Hartemink showed up.
“He comes in with a cooler of food and snacks, and he sticks around and helps answer people’s questions,” said Marquardt. “That’s a small thing, but those little things really stack up and give Calvin a personality that would be hard to find somewhere else.”
Marquardt’s colleagues agree.
“Many of my peers in industry were surprised that during my undergrad experience I could talk to my professors,” said Marquardt. “I think that made a really significant impact on me. If I didn’t have a deep understanding of something or grasp something, they were more than willing to sit down and help me understand the concept.”
Seeing ROI of professors investing time
Marquardt says that deep understanding of fundamental concepts is still paying dividends.
“Professor Tubergen and Professor Haan always talked about memorizing the three variable equations and simple equations,” said Marquardt. “Now in meetings, I am prepared to do small back-of-the-envelope type stress calculations. I can understand if we can actually build this, will a structure of this length work in this application. Having that has been valuable.”
At Northrop Grumman, Marquardt helps design optical mounts and structures that can interface with different lenses—from a pair of glasses to a telescope that gets launched into space. He credits Calvin’s hands-on learning environment as essential to his success.
“That hands-on approach that Calvin has taken with senior design projects and consistent lab work was huge, because a lot of what I do today is hands-on.”
Connected to opportunities
And the experiences he had outside the classroom and abroad built his résumé and opened doors to future opportunities.
Marquardt’s business minor and involvement with Knight Investment Management—a real-life experience in investment through real-time analysis, asset allocation, and stock selection—led to his department manager asking him to join a special project focused on cost analysis and forecasting for a future project.
“Being involved in that project allowed me to make a lot of connections and learn a lot about our product on the business side,” said Marquardt. “Having the financial side and the engineering side allows me to navigate into some nontraditional avenues of engineering.”
The international designation Marquardt received through studying abroad in Germany also led to an unexpected opportunity to work on a project with a German company.
Rooted in Christian values
For all the opportunities that have been opened, it’s also the foundations that were laid that continue to pay dividends for Marquardt and impact the people he works with.
“In every engineering class, professors tied in some aspect of Scripture, sustainability, honoring the Lord, acting justly, making good decisions, or acting with engineering ethics,” said Marquardt. “Acting with honesty and integrity are core principles throughout Calvin’s engineering program.”
Now, Marquardt is living out the values modeled to him as he manages a team of engineers at Northrop Grumman.
“The relationships I had with professors were game-changing,” said Marquardt. “I have recommended Calvin to many people. A huge differentiator with Calvin was all that it has to offer; I highly recommend taking advantage of the clubs, free tutoring, dorm leadership, outdoor recreation, and many of the other opportunities that can help you grow both professionally, personally, and in your relationship with the Lord.”
