Christian Thompson’s path to the moon began, more or less, with struggling through math class at Quinsigamond Community College.
He didn’t actually make the trip. But just a few years after considering leaving college altogether, Thompson found himself at Worcester-based David Clark Company helping manufacture components for spacesuits used by the crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission around the moon.
It was a destination Thompson could hardly have envisioned when he arrived at QCC as an engineering student, according to a release from the college. A switch to advanced manufacturing, followed by hours spent working in QCC’s laboratories, eventually led to a job at one of Worcester’s longtime manufacturers of aerospace and defense equipment.
“There’s something new at my job every day,” Thompson said in the QCC announcement. “QCC helped me grow and there’s still so much for me to learn.”
Thompson initially chose QCC over Wentworth Institute of Technology, in part because he wanted to keep the cost of college manageable. But health problems and the demands of the engineering program’s math-heavy coursework took a toll, and he began falling behind.
At one point, according to the college, he considered dropping out.
A conversation with Lee Duerden, a QCC professor of manufacturing technology, sent him in another direction. Duerden encouraged Thompson to move into advanced manufacturing, where engineering principles could be put to use through more hands-on work.
The change apparently suited him.
Thompson began spending as much as eight hours a day in QCC’s labs and eventually took a job in the college’s Fab Lab. Among his projects was the manufacture of silicone molds of anatomical lung models used by students in QCC’s respiratory care program.
“I learned so much from the professors and the staff in the Fab Lab and CNC lab,” Thompson said in the release. “They’re teaching you real-world stuff.”
Duerden later recommended Thompson for a position at David Clark Company, where Thompson began working part time while finishing his degree. He transferred to Northeastern University in 2023 and became a full-time David Clark employee.
The job put many of the skills he learned at QCC to work almost immediately, including prototyping, industrial robotics, laser cutting and 3D printing.
And it eventually put him within arm’s reach—quite literally—of the space program.
In addition to working on the aviation headsets for which David Clark is well known, Thompson helped manufacture components for spacesuits used in NASA’s Artemis II mission. While testing the durability of a spacesuit intended for the crew, he wore its gloves during a vacuum test designed to simulate conditions inside a spacecraft, according to QCC.
“It’s amazing that it comes from here in Worcester and I got to be part of it,” Thompson said in the release. “I’m helping people do things that have never been done before.”
Thompson’s career is still moving. He completed a bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering at Northeastern earlier this year and plans to pursue a master’s degree at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, with a focus on robotics or mechanical engineering.
His longer-term ambitions include developing technology that can improve lives, from medical devices to robotics capable of working in hazardous environments.
Thompson, who is also a new father, said his family and religious faith have helped keep him moving through setbacks and focused on what comes next.
“I want to be a provider for my family and support them,” he said. “And I like to make my mom proud.”
After a college career that once appeared in danger of ending early, Thompson said he now sees an obligation to make the most of where it has taken him.
“There are a lot of people who wish they could be in my position,” he said. “I owe it to others to keep going and see what I can achieve.”
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