BBA People are amongst the best in their field; and we couldn’t be prouder of one member of the team who has excelled himself recently to graduate from Kingston University with BEng in Aerospace Engineering.

Patrick Sichali, a Test Technician from our Garston team, joined the BBA last June and completed his studies alongside his work with us at our Test facilities in Watford.

Having taken an interest in aerospace engineering from a young age, Pat has achieved an ambition which had been a long time in the making.

He said: “Being able to fulfil a lifelong dream or a checkpoint as I like to call it, brings me the upmost satisfaction especially knowing how hard I had to work to achieve it.

“A lot of people told me it would be impossible but my mother would always tell me to challenge people that underestimate my ability and that impossible is nothing!

“I studied for it purely because of my love and passion for aerospace engineering as well as the curiosity to learn new things. I soon came to realise as in any industry, that there is always something new to learn and that feeds my desire to know it all.”

Graduating so soon after the coronavirus pandemic saw Pat overcome many external challenges along the way, but he was backed by the support of those around him.

“I had a lot of support from my family and peers when I was at my lowest and wondering if it was all worth it,” he acknowledges. “My mother especially would tell me ‘there is always light at the end of the darkest tunnel’ and ‘remember why you started’. Those two saying would often miraculously breathe life back into me and enable me to charge the mountain.”

Pat is grateful for the support of the BBA and colleagues who also helped him to this point.

“Although the BBA are in a completely different field of work I learned a lot about understanding material properties as well as the different types of testing induced on different materials,” he notes.

“A lot of work that I do is not complete gibberish when I first look at it! I am able to break it down to a level of understanding to help me achieve the end result  which is a skill I believe I can take anywhere and further develop with more experience!”

Many congratulations on your graduation, Pat – from all of us at the BBA.