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Dylan Dueñas always loved working on teams. Now, he’s coaching one.
The 19-year-old UF aerospace and mechanical engineering sophomore is part of the Florida Rocket Lab, a student organization that designs, builds and tests liquid bi-propellant rocket engines and other flight vehicles.
“I just love taking on different projects,” Dueñas said. “I love seeing what other people, like some of my friends, show me and then I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, that's cool, let me do it myself.’”
Dueñas originally worked on the guidance, navigation and controls team, which focuses on directing the rockets’ paths and keeping them stable. He later transitioned to work on rocket recovery systems, which focus on bringing the rocket safely to Earth after launch.
His sights are currently set on a rocket that will launch in the Mojave Desert in California in May 2026. The rocket is supposed to fly at the speed of mach 1.2, or over 920 mph, and soar 22,000 feet in the air.
Isabella Fernandez, a 19-year-old UF aerospace and mechanical engineering sophomore, worked with Dueñas on navigation controls during their freshman year in the Florida Rocket Lab. Dueñas always jumped in to help and answer all of her questions, she said.
When they worked on the same team, Fernandez said she was "worlds behind, knowledge-wise.”
“He never said I was dumb or anything like that,” Fernandez said. “He always was patient and sat and worked with me.”
Dueñas isn’t just passionate about his own projects — he also started mentoring a high school team made up of students from schools across the Orlando area, both in-person and virtually. He’s heavily involved with the team and attends every meeting and competition they have.
He recently attended two off-season competitions with the team — one in Louisiana and one on the Space Coast. He also created a training program to teach the students everything from Computer-Aided Design basics to different equations of motion.
Some of the robots the team builds for competitions are about his size, Dueñas said. He loves teaching design and manufacturing to the students through what he called a “cool program.”.
Javier Irizarry-Delgado, an 18-year-old UF electrical engineering sophomore, worked as a mentor to the same high school team last year. The community team’s build space is at Orange County Academy in Bithlo, an unincorporated community Irizarry-Delgado described as underserved. Helping students learn Computer-Aided Design, a digital tool for building 2D and 3D models, makes a big impact, he said.
Dueñas’ ability to listen and work with people makes him an amazing mentor, he added.
“He’s really good at teaching. … He’s very good at adopting to different learning styles,” Irizarry-Delgado said.
Dueñas believes in getting high schoolers acquainted with engineering in a hands-on context, he said. Each year, the students are given a new game involving a mix of challenges. This year’s game included a “pick and place” task, in which students moved PVC pipes onto different elevated levels up to 7 feet in the air.
Dueñas’ favorite part of his involvement, he said, are the people he’s gotten to know through the programs.
“There have been a couple of moments where we’ve had huge accomplishments … but those accomplishments would have meant nothing without the people that I’ve met along the way,” Dueñas said.
Contact Madeline Herring at mherring@alligator.org. Follow her on X @m_herring06.
Madeline is a first-year journalism and environmental science double major and the Fall 2025 general assignment reporter. In her free time she enjoys reading, binging new television series, and browsing the isles of target with her friends.
