Persistence and a Dream

Aerospace Engineering Student Veteran Reaches Dream Job after 17 Years

Demetrious Jarvis (’20, aerospace engineering) was standing on a Navy aircraft carrier flight deck when a booming noise made him drop belly down to the floor.

“The noise scared me, but when I gathered myself there was this powerful fighter jet with full afterburner and the arresting gear locked on,” says Jarvis. “The sound of the plane and the feeling I had, I was like, ‘Wow, I think I love this.’”

That was 17 years ago when he found his purpose in life: to work with planes.

With his persistence to have a better future for himself and a desire to contribute to society, Jarvis pushed himself to overcome challenges he faced throughout his life to reach his goal.

Jarvis is no stranger to working hard. He grew up in Norfolk, Virginia, and dropped out of school in the ninth grade to help support his family. He was the second oldest of 15 siblings.

When Jarvis turned 17, his aunt and grandma took him to a military school for an eight-month program to earn his GED diploma. Instead of eight months, he did it in two. His experience at the program inspired him to enlist in military service.

“I was recruited heavily for the military out of that program, and it changed my life,” says Jarvis.

Jarvis served in the Navy for more than four years and learned to maintain airplanes and fighter jets. He researched the aerospace industry to see how he could contribute and learned about Kelly Johnson, one of Skunk Works’ co-founders, who produced innovative aircraft designs, including the first fighter jet to exceed 400 mph. Inspired by how one man and one organization changed the world, Jarvis wanted to be a part of that mission.

To find work outside the Navy, Jarvis moved from the East Coast to California to work on planes as a contractor. Despite working in the same company for four years, he was not qualified for certain promotions because he lacked a college degree. Jarvis quit his job and spent the next four years studying math and physics at Pasadena Community College and making up his high school courses.

“Transferring from junior college was scary because I didn’t think I could get into a university, but then I received offer letters for all the colleges I applied to and it made me believe in myself more,” says Jarvis.

Out of all the universities he visited, he felt positive energy at Cal Poly Pomona once he stepped on campus, feeling that he was meant to be a Bronco, and transferred in 2016 into aerospace engineering. As a student he connected with the Veterans Resource Center and with peers who understood his Navy background.

Jarvis started to see his work pay off when he was a part of projects that allowed him to apply what he learned in the classroom to hands-on experiences.

Some of the courses he took allowed him to work with high- and low-speed tunnels to test the durability of aircraft wings, which led him to work as a flutter and vibrations engineer. His precise designs and calculations ensured the safety of aircraft components, and he dedicated his time to understand how he could contribute to this field.

Jarvis also knew he wanted to work with rockets, and joined the Undergraduate Missiles, Ballistics and Rocketry Association (UMBRA) to participate in competitions and explore the aerospace field. In 2019, he worked as the payload lead with a 25-person team that launched a 14-foot rocket 24,000 feet in the air. They won first place in the Friends of Amateur Rocketry (FAR) 1030 competition that year and set a school record. He eventually became the UMBRA president, and credits his professors in teaching him to be persistent.

“The Navy showed me that that I’m really good at working on airplanes and that I have a passion for fighter jets, but I didn’t know that I was really good with rockets until I got to Cal Poly Pomona,” Jarvis says. “Cal Poly Pomona allowed me to explore something as specific as vibrations on an aircraft, which helped me in exploring jobs.”

While he was a member of UMBRA, Jarvis took part in every campus event that Lockheed Martin—the aerospace, defense, security, and technologies company that houses Skunk Works—participated in. Jarvis networked with managers from the company, who advised him to specialize in his engineering field.

“I actually needed a master’s degree for the position that I was applying for, but because Cal Poly Pomona offered wind tunnel classes and hands-on opportunities, I qualified for the job.” — Demetrious Jarvis (’20, Aerospace Engineering), Flutter and Vibrations Engineer at Skunk Works

After Lockheed Martin rejected several of Jarvis’ online applications, he upped his game and flew to Arizona for a conference and stood in line for an opportunity to meet a hiring manager in person. A Lockheed Martin representative who had also attended Cal Poly Pomona events recognized him and took his application. Jarvis had an interview the next morning, and he was offered a position to work as an engineer at Skunk Works in Southern California.

“I actually needed a master’s degree for the position that I was applying for, but because Cal Poly Pomona offered wind tunnel classes and hands-on opportunities, I qualified for the job,” Jarvis says. “What I did with wind tunnels on campus, I’ll be doing at Skunk Works but on a bigger scale with real airplanes.”

Jarvis never let a challenge prevent him from reaching his goal. He is determined to be a model for his younger siblings and show that they can reach their dreams through determination and education.

“The Navy definitely taught me endurance and to be mentally tough when you’re going through challenges,” Jarvis says. “Just being resilient and constantly hitting the wall until you crack it and then you can go through it.”

Where is he now?

Jarvis graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a degree in aerospace engineering in May 2020. After graduation, he started work at Skunk Works as a flutter and vibrations engineer, testing for vibrations and stress on airplanes, missiles, rockets, and other advanced development projects. He says, “I went from putting the chains and chalk on the plane to providing full-scale designs for customers. But it was a journey. And now, I reached a dream.”

This is a modified version of a profile originally written by Nancy Yeang.