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From Wye River Upper School to Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Lab: One Graduate's Journey

by Katie Lillard, Director of Enrollment and Communication




There is something to be said for taking the scenic route. Many high school graduates enroll in and complete a post-secondary program immediately following their senior year without looking back. And that can be the right path for some graduates.

But for others, is there a more circuitous route that provides an opportunity to stop and smell the roses–or to stumble upon something unexpected but meaningful? 


Wye River Upper School alumnus Jacob Wilkes ‘10 might say yes. For Jacob, completing his college degree took place at three campuses over eight years, eventually leading him into a career he loves at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Lab. 


Wilkes points to a mockup of the DART spacecraft. Its mission was to impact with one of two binary asteroids without destroying the asteroid to gauge how much they could affect the orbit. This mission is part of NASA’s planetary defense mission set and will help to pave the way for redirecting asteroids away from Earth should the need ever arise. Jacob was part of a team that developed an automated system for verification of the computer hardware that was eventually flown on DART. This automated system helped repeatedly verify that the board was in good working order at various levels of assembly of the spacecraft. Website: https://dart.jhuapl.edu/

Wilkes began his post-secondary career as a high school student at Wye River Upper School when he dual-enrolled at Chesapeake College. The experience of dual-enrolling in a degree-seeking program allowed Jacob to earn college credits within the supportive framework of the WRUS community and environment.



After graduation, Wilkes attended Chesapeake College and The Community College of Baltimore before graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from The University of Maryland Baltimore Campus (UMBC). Wilkes’s initial interest in web design led him to study server management and, finally, engineering. Over his eight-year undergraduate education, Wilkes received what he values as a varied and robust education. “I have a much wider skill set than I would have if I had finished in four years,” says Wilkes. 


When Wilkes excelled in a Satellite Communications course at UMBC, his professor suggested that he apply for a position at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (JHU-APL) and even offered to help Jacob write his resume. 


Wilkes describes the scale model of the upcoming Dragonfly Octocopter which will be deployed on Saturn’s moon Titan. The Octocopter will be a fully autonomous flying vehicle that is capable of surveying large distances of land during its lifetime, as opposed to most rover-style missions that only survey a very small portion of a planet/moon. Wilke’s work for Dragonfly will consist of creating ground support hardware/software to help validate the radio within the Octocopter.

Now, in his sixth year at JHU-APL, Wilkes collaborates with and leads small teams in creating test equipment for spacecrafts and flight software for new space demo missions. Jacob was recently part of a team that developed and tested the Polylingual Experimental Terminal (PExT), scheduled to launch in June 2024. This system is designed to relay communication from spacecraft to Earth by utilizing commercial satellite providers, improving the reliability and availability of transmission between orbiting spacecraft and Earth. 


“Knowing what I know about JHU- APL, I totally appreciate the fit between them and Jacob," says Founding Head of School Chrissy Aull, whose husband retired from a career at JHU-APL. "APL looks for and expects excellence in anything they pursue and so does Jacob. We knew him to be a dedicated and disciplined scholar with a passion for technology and innovation. His kindness and sense of humor made for an all-around great person. I am delighted for him and for APL and I wish him the best.”


Beginning a career in space engineering is impressive for anyone, but even more so for someone who once faced challenges with meeting grade-level math and reading standards. 


The unconventional nature of Wilkes’s education can be traced back to his decision to enroll at Wye River Upper School. Wilkes was fortunate to find his way to WRUS in its early years when the school was largely unknown. Terri Wilkes, Jacob’s mother, and a former WRUS faculty member, believed that the small school for learning differences on the campus of Chesapeake College would provide Wilkes with the education he needed. At Wye River Upper School, Jacob found tailored pacing and curriculum that bolstered his deficits and nurtured his strengths. 







“Because the classes were so small, students helped steer the course curriculums,” says Wilkes, “and we studied topics that interested us.”



Other aspects of school life that stand out in Jacob’s memory are the rapport he developed with teachers James Martinez and Juan Angarita, and the many field trips students took during their time at WRUS. 


Jacob has proved to us all that sometimes doing the next right thing is all that is required to find your place in the world. For current WRUS students embarking on their own journeys upon graduation, Jacob offers this: “Try what you think you might like, and make adjustments as you go.” 


More information on the PExT project can be found through the following web links:





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