Alumna Kristie Kelly '10: From East Woods to NASA Engineer and Professional Athlete

On December 2, Alumna Kristie Kelly '10 took time out of her busy life to visit East Woods School and talk to the Upper School Students about her journey to Johns Hopkins as an electrical engineer in the Spacecraft Power Engineering Group at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. In October, she had the opportunity to witness the launch of the Europa Clipper mission at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a mission she spent 6 years working on. The spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles and reach Jupiter in April 2030. It will conduct 49 close flybys of Jupiter's moon, Europa, and determine if Europa has conditions suitable to support life.

Kristie Kelly was born and raised in Oyster Bay, NY, where she attended East Woods School from Nursery through Ninth Grade. From an early age, she developed a strong passion for both sports and science. Some of her favorite sports memories from East Woods include making the Varsity Soccer Team in 6th grade, competing in Basketball and Fitness Club during the winter months, and captaining the Green Team to victory. When it came to science, Kristie enjoyed the creative and hands-on learning experiences. She remembers creating an edible cell cake for biology class, taking a trip to Six Flags to explore the physics of roller coasters, and presenting her science projects to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory judges at the Science Symposiums. Kristie also participated in the Accelerated Learning Program (ALPs). She recalls dissecting a cow's eye and sheep's heart, exploring magnetic levitation technology for trains, and organizing the first-ever interschool Rube Goldberg Competition. 

Kristie Kelly completed a dual-degree engineering program and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science from St. Lawrence University and a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from Dartmouth College. In 2023, she completed her Master of Science in Computer and Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

While at Dartmouth College in 2018, Kristie discovered a love for Ultimate Frisbee. She won the USA Ultimate D-I College National Championships with her team, Dartmouth Daybreak (formerly known as Princess Layout). The following year, Kristie's athletic journey reached new heights as she was selected to play for the New York Gridlock (NYGL), a groundbreaking professional ultimate frisbee team for women, non-binary, and genderqueer athletes competing in the Premier Ultimate League (PUL). Her talents transcended boundaries as she traveled nationally and internationally, competing against teams from across North America, South America, Asia, and Europe. 

In 2020, when the COVID pandemic hit, Kristie took a break from professional ultimate, only to embark on yet another professional sports journey a few years later. In 2022, Kristie embraced the challenge of professional women's tackle football. She currently shines as a wide receiver and kicker for the DC Divas in the Women's Football Alliance (WFA). In 2024, Kristie was named to the first team All-American Team representing the best in women's tackle football and concluded the season winning Special Teams MVP.

In addition to her athletic achievements, Kristie is involved in NASA's Dragonfly mission - a rotorcraft-lander designed to explore dozens of location sites around Saturn's moon, Titan. The mission's main objective is to characterize the habitability of Titan's environment, and it is scheduled to launch in July 2028. 

Kristie says her journey in the world of sports and science has been incredibly rewarding and that East Woods School has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in shaping her character and career. She hopes that her story inspires the next generation to thrive in competitive environments and excel in a variety of disciplines. She says the possibilities that lie ahead are endless and encourages you all to stay curious and dedicated to your craft, whatever it may be.