It was while repairing a television he built himself that Dwight Yoder realized what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He realized he wanted to be an engineer, and he heard Capitol College (then Capitol Institute of Technology) was a good place to start his career. 

After more than 20 years in engineering, Yoder is now an executive director at Northrop Grumman Corporation, where he manages the global company's space technology and services business unit. Following his graduation from Capitol in 1986, Yoder began working for Litton Industries in Lanham as a design and reliability engineer. He worked his way up the ladder to his current position.

A naturally driven and determined man, Dwight studied nonstop while attending Capitol, earning his bachelor's degree in engineering technology within three years. Yoder's solid work ethic contributes to much of his success. But he also gives credit to his alma mater.

The engineering curriculum "was a blend of the analytical and empirical," he says. "It was the hands-on and classroom education and the emphasis on communications that postured me to move in any direction."

The recipient of several NASA achievement awards, Yoder has worked with a team to help increase the reliability of space hardware and created design models that have become industry standards. He says he looks to the future everyday - whether he's supervising the development of the next generation space plane or recruiting young, dedicated students to join the next generation of space-industry engineers.