Shana Brown

On August 15, 2025, Concordia students launched Starsailor, making history with Canada’s first attempt to reach space from domestic soil in more than 25 years.

Designed and built entirely by students at the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, the liquid-fuel rocket was the first of its kind in the country to fly.

Shana was propulsion co-lead for Space Concordia’s Rocketry Division.

On Starsailor’s launch:

“I have no words that can do it justice,” says Shana of watching the rocket take flight. “It was a moment where time seemed to pass in slow motion, everyone was ecstatic, jumping around and screaming. The feeling was incredible, something I’ll never forget.” Though she and her team had poured countless hours into testing, validation and calculations, seeing the rocket soar was surreal. “Actually, seeing it happen is a different story.”

Why Concordia:

Concordia stood out because it allowed her to complete prerequisites missing from Grade 12. “It helped bridge the gap between my high school and going into my chosen degree,” she says.

On moving to Quebec:

Following her Grade 7–12 French immersion program, Shana was optimistic that she could navigate the city and university. Although the dialect differs somewhat from what she learned in high school in Newfoundland, she hasn’t found language to be a barrier, thanks to the Montreal’s welcoming and diverse community.

Favourite neighbourhood in Montreal: 

Downtown

This profile is part of sponsored content originally published in The Globe and Mail in collaboration with Concordia University.