Burden earns young alumni honor
SENATOBIA, Miss. – The Northwest Mississippi Community College Foundation has selected Satsha Burden of Tupelo as the 2026 Young Alumni Professional Achievement Award recipient, recognizing his rapid rise in aerospace engineering and continued commitment to excellence.
A former Northwest cheerleader, Burden now serves as a Test Engineer and Test Manager at the Arnold Engineering Development Complex at Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee. He credits Northwest Head Cheer Coach Brandon Casey as an early mentor whose influence shaped both his discipline and leadership. During his time at Northwest, Burden earned multiple distinctions, including HEADWAE Student of the Year, Outstanding Student, and induction into the Hall of Fame.
After graduating from Northwest, Burden completed a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering at Mississippi State University, where he also cheered on the D1 coed squad and contributed to the Space Cowboys rocketry team. He later earned a master’s degree in engineering management from Middle Tennessee State University.
Since joining AEDC in 2022, Burden has managed more than $12 million in test programs and logged over 1,000 tunnel user occupancy hours. He will be honored April 18 at the Northwest Soiree: A Garden Gala at the Heindl Center.
