Ashley Padres, a sophomore enrolled in Cornell University's College of Engineering, is pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. With a technical background and a fervent commitment to empowering students, Ashley aims to foster self-directed learning within the Ursa Majors Project Division. Drawing from extensive experience in technical design, prototyping, and testing with CUAir, the Cornell University Unmanned Air Systems team, as well as various leadership roles such as serving as Deputy Principal Investigator for the SMDS (SmallSat Mission DEsign School) class of 2023, Ashley brings a wealth of expertise to the table. This includes contributing to the design of a smallsat mission concept review for a satellite mission aimed at imaging earth-like exoplanets, a project culminating in a paper presentation at the 2024 SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation Conference in Japan. Further, Ashley wants to use the experience she got from being on a two-time national finalist team in the American Rocketry Challenge in high school to empower and encourage other high school students to reach for the stars.