Chris Crew-Holloway

San José State University, MS in Aerospace Engineering

University of California, Santa Barbara, B.S. in Physics with a minor in Astronomy and Planetary Science

Paly Class of 2016

Updated August 30, 2026

Q: How would you describe your experience at Paly?  

A: My experience at Paly was challenging and fast-paced, as I had a very active lifestyle and a bunch of extracurricular activities to balance with my academics. When I came to Paly as a freshman, I had previously been in the Los Altos school district for elementary and middle school, so it was a bit daunting to make new friends and try to fit in at first. 

I joined the Paly choir freshman year, which was an incredible experience and gave me a strong community to be a part of - this helped me find a group of core friends early on, and surrounded me by others with similar passions and interests. I was not the most studious individual and did not prioritize taking the hardest courses or AP classes, but instead pursued topics I was passionate about. 

Academically, Paly was quite challenging for me, but I made sure to always try my best, ask for help or seek out tutors for specific subjects I struggled with, and give it my all. The rigorous coursework and competitive environment were not easy to manage, but this helped prepare me for college. The determination to succeed and the necessity to balance all of my activities and social life were incredibly formative for my success in college and beyond. Paly prepared me well and was a great experience, but it was only the first step to growing into the professional I am today. 

Q: Tell us about your college experience - what were your challenges and successes?

A: I really enjoyed going to college in Santa Barbara. It happened to be my top pick in high school and I managed to get in off the waitlist. UCSB has incredible academics and athletics, and is in a prime location with a fun and social culture. I loved getting to live on my own with my dog Maddy and to be fully independent as I began to define my career. 

Initially, I planned on being a mechanical engineer, but knew that with my grades and coursework from high school I could not apply to this major or I would not get into the school, which is why I went in undeclared. Early on, I faced challenges with my study skills in advanced science and math classes, as I had not been exposed to this level of rigor before. I felt behind with my core courses as many of my peers had already taken calculus or advanced STEM classes. so I was unable to switch into mechanical engineering. This was a huge challenge, but I overcame it by actively seeking out tutoring programs, finding study groups, and making friends in my classes or with peers who had similar career aspirations. This helped me stay accountable with my coursework and I developed the study skills required to be successful in this environment. I found that no matter how hard the subject material or course was, I could always find a way to learn if I did not give up.

The biggest success for me at UCSB was completing my degree in Physics while playing club ice hockey and doing research in Experimental Astrophysics. While Physics was not the degree I hoped to obtain initially, it did set me up for greater success with engineering later in life. My college experience taught me that you can achieve anything you want if you can find balance in life while staying determined and disciplined with your academics.  

Q: How did you decide to pursue graduate work?

A: After receiving my undergraduate degree, I did not have any jobs or interviews set up immediately upon graduation. I planned to go back home and to apply for mechanical engineering jobs that piqued my interest. In hindsight, I should have been much more proactive with career development while in college - working on my resume, getting summer internships, and practicing for interviews, as these resources are available to those who seek them out on campus. I should have networked more and pursued summer internships, but I did not realize I needed to prioritize this during my time in college as an undergraduate.

I found the job application and interview process to be taxing as a new college graduate, and the immediate need to financially support myself pushed me back to my old summer jobs in construction as I attempted to find my first real job in the industry. I ended up working in construction for two and a half years after I graduated with my Physics degree until I finally got an internship at a satellite startup, Xona Space Systems. This incredible experience only lasted 6 months, but it got me excited about startups and pushed me towards graduate school. At that time, a close friend with whom I studied Physics at UCSB recommended joining the Aerospace Engineering program at San José State. I was hungry for relevant experience in the industry and wanted to be taken seriously in the field, so it seemed like a perfect fit. 

Q: What has your journey been since graduate school?

A: My career really began in graduate school at San José State. I had good study habits and was much better at prioritization and time management compared to being an undergraduate. I was incredibly focused and proactive with getting to know my professors - participating in office hours and frequently asking questions, which led to a ton of opportunities and helped shape my early career. 

Within my first few months of graduate school, I started my own company with another student. Building this company was my primary focus during my first year, along with my academics and part time work to support myself financially. By my second year of graduate school, my professional life really took off. I was still founding my own company, but I also had a job working at NASA as an analyst, was an instructional student assistant for multiple classes, and was the vice president of the San José State rocket club. I was juggling all of this while writing my master’s project and taking the required coursework to finish my graduate degree. Three months before my graduation, my company landed an initial consulting contract to support a local “stealth” startup to design, prototype, and test a product. This opportunity turned into a larger follow-on contract, and within a year, I was hired on as a full-time employee with another one of my engineers who supported our consulting efforts. 

I have now been a full-time employee with this stealth startup for over a year and a half. It was an incredibly hard decision to pause the development of my own company, but I knew the experience and immediate impact I could make with this opportunity was too big to pass up. In the future, I will return to my company, but I plan to see the first few products successfully go to market and make an impact at my full-time job before I can return to my startup. 

Q: How has RTE helped you?

A: RTE helped provide mentorship and guidance to me, as well as foundational financial support. It’s incredible to be surrounded by a community of individuals who have been through similar experiences you can ask questions to or get mentorship from. Having this support and feedback throughout the application, acceptance, and college process was very impactful, lending more perspective as I navigated my way through these trying times. The financial support  I received enabled me to reduce the amount of student loans I had to take on at USCB and enabled me to focus on my academics and research while at school instead of also trying to work part-time (which I had no time for and would have taken energy away from my studies). 

Q: What do you hope to accomplish in the future?

A: In my future, I plan to accomplish a lot - but what does “a lot” really mean? I have already done so much in my short time since graduate school, however, I genuinely feel I have barely scratched the surface of my potential. One thing I really look forward to is doing a space shot - sending a rocket that I build with others over the Karman line at ~330,000 feet (the edge of Earth's atmosphere) within the next few years.

While I could measure future accomplishments with goals and physical achievements (like authoring more patents or publications, raising money for my company, etc.), what I really hope to accomplish is to make a bigger impact on those in my community and the world. As an engineer, I want to work on cool products that are impactful and help people around the world live better, safer lives. As an entrepreneur, I want to push the limits of technology and drive innovation to better understand the world around us and our place in it. As an individual, I want to keep growing and learning, providing better support for my family, friends, and those around me. I believe accomplishments are best measured by the impact they make, and I hope to contribute meaningfully to the communities I am a part of now and in the future. 

Chris Crew-Holloway, one of RTE's scholars from Paly's Class of 2016, is currently completing his last quarter at UCSB and graduating with a degree in Physics AND Astronomy and a minor in Planetary Science. He is also a part of a team researching lunar exploration technologies that he really enjoys. Chris says the best part of going to college is developing independence and growing through experience. While he planned to pursue a degree already, Chris strongly believes that RTE enabled him to focus more on learning in school because he did not have to focus and worry about huge student loans and trying to pay off debt while pursuing his education. After college, Chris isn’t quite sure what he wants to do yet, but he has lots of ideas! He is considering graduate school but would also like to get work experience in engineering companies like Tesla. He is also interested in researching renewable energy sources.