2014 US Black Engineer & Information Technology | BACK TO SCHOOL - VOL. 38, NO. 3

Opportunities in the Pipeline: Innovation, Research and Engineering

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Dr. Ken Washington

Vice President of Research and Advanced Engineering Ford Motor Company​

How I Spent My Summer

10

Easy Tips for College Success

Find the Perfect Internship USBE&IT Back to School Edition 2014 www.blackengineer.com

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But more than anything else, L-3 is its people. Every individual in our company brings a unique background, perspective and set of abilities. These differences improve our creativity, innovation, agility and execution. Diversity is a key part of our business strategy — and a big factor in our ongoing success.

We have assignments in the U.S. and around the world in Engineering, Program Management, Business Development, Cybersecurity and more! Share your ideas and help us develop the game-changing technologies of the future.

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DRIVEN BY DIVERSITY. As one of the world’s foremost technology leaders, Raytheon takes on some of the most difficult challenges imaginable. Meeting those challenges requires a diversity of talent, ideas, backgrounds, opinions and beliefs. Diversity helps our teams make better decisions, build stronger customer relationships and feel more inspired, supported and empowered. It is both a catalyst and an essential advantage to everything we do.

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PROFILES IN INNOVATION

Cover story: An Inspirational Engineer!...............................10

From developing nuclear safeguards to information science, advanced materials and nano systems, Ford Motor Company’s Ken Washington’s engineering career has covered just about every branch and discipline.

One on One..............................8

The Legacy of Carl Mack: What It Takes to be Bold

Career Voices........................ 12 Digit All Systems founder Lance Lucas prepares a new generation of IT Experts

DIVERSITY

People and Events..................6 BEST PRACTICES FOR SUCCESS

Feature: What I Did This Summer.........................21 Summer is a treasured time for college students. Some want nothing more than to escape the intense workload of higher education. However, others seek experiences that are tough, challenging and bring with them immense rewards.

Feature: Internships Mutually Benefit Students and Organizations.........................24 Feature: How to Find the Perfect Internship............26 Corporations seeking to fill talent pipelines

Feature: 10 Easy Tips for College Success.....................29 Despite Obstacles, College Success Can Happen

TS Vo l u m e 3 7 N u m b e r 3

First Steps............................ 17 Extreme Science Internships

Corporate Life....................... 18 Business Etiquette Throughout the Orgnaization

EDUCATION

Pell Grant Program continues to be challenged.......................15 CAREER OUTLOOK...............33

Industry Overview................34 Job Horizon...........................37 How Do I Land a Job in Energy? ............................38 STEM Superstars to Watch...............................45 COLLEGE MARKETPLACE

STEM Student Survival Guide.......................50

PUBLISHER’S PAGE

S

even years ago a Washington, D.C.-based public policy organization found that nearly half of all student borrowers surveyed

carried an average balance of $3,176 in credit card debt, and 58 percent were graduating with unmanageable debt. To raise awareness, the organization traveled across America coordinating various workshops to address the importance of credit building and financial literacy. According to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators(NAFSAA), which has primary focus on student aid legislation, regulatory analysis, and training for financial aid administrators, the first mistake many students and families make is assuming they can’t afford to pay after looking at the sticker price of colleges.

In one April 2014 report, “College Costs: Students Can’t Afford Not to Know,” the authors suggest that students and their families who receive financial aid via grants, loans and other forms need to have an understanding of the costs.

NAFSAA advises students to start their research early on financial aid that will probably defray some of their loans. In this issue, find out how scholarships can make a difference and how to get the most from one of the programs many have come to rely on to finance part of their higher education. Begun in 1972, the federally funded Pell grants are awarded to needy undergraduates and unlike loans they do not have to be repaid. The U.S. Department of Education, which administers the Pell Grant program, determines financial need based on a formula which takes into account student income, parents’ income, family size, assets, expenses, etc. At one time, Pell Grants covered all of a two-year college education and half of the cost of a four-year college education. Now, experts say, it only covers about a third of that. According to the Institute for College Access and Success, African-American students comprise about a quarter of all Pell Grant recipients but make up 41 percent of Pell Grant recipients working toward a degree after six years.

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USBE&IT I FALL 2014 3

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February 5-7, 2015 Washington Marriott Wardman Park Washington, DC

US Black Engineer & Information Technology (ISSN 1088-3444) is a publication devoted to engineering, science, and technology and to promoting opportunities in those fields for Black Americans. The editors invite submissions directed toward the goals of US Black Engineer & Information Technology. In particular, we wish to present ideas and current events concerning science and technology, and personality profiles of successful Blacks in these fields and related business pursuits. Fully developed articles may be sent for consideration, but queries are encouraged. US Black Engineer & Information Technology invites letters to the editor about any topics important to our readership. Articles and letters should be sent to: US Black Engineer & Information Technology, Editorial Department, 729 E Pratt St., Suite 504, Baltimore, MD 21202. No manuscript will be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. US Black Engineer & Information Technology cannot be responsible for unsolicited art or editorial material. This publication is bulk-mailed to 150 colleges and universities nationwide. Subscriptions are $26/year. Please write to US Black Engineer & Information Technology, Subscriptions, 729 E. Pratt St., Suite 504, Baltimore, MD 21202. Copyright (c) 2014 by Career Communications Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

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People and Events

by Tyrone Taborn publisher@ccgmag.com

Left to Right: Former American International Group President and CEO Robert Benmosche, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), Morgan State University president David Wilson.

FORMER PRESIDENT AND CEO OF AIG VISITS MORGAN STATE

F

ormer American International Group (AIG) president and CEO Bob Benmosche posed for a group photograph Wednesday, April 23 ahead of a lecture at Howard University for the School of Business Executive Lecture Series. U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings introduced Benmosche’s appearance at Morgan State University’s School of Business.

Benmosche addressed a full house of Morgan State students and faculty in the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management (SBM). Also in attendance were Morgan State president David Wilson, SBM dean Fikru Boghossian and Career Communications Group President and CEO Tyrone Taborn.

American International Group (AIG) continues to have one of the largest insurance networks in the world, with over 85 million clients in more than 130 countries.

The AIG Summer Internship Program offers exposure to business areas across AIG, with high-performing interns given a chance to join AIG’s Full-Time Graduate Development Program upon graduation.

6 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

The Summer Internship Program is for students graduating from December 2014 through June 2015 and available for 10 consecutive weeks between May and August 2014.

The Full-Time Graduate Development Program is for students graduating between December 2013 and June 2014 and available for full-time employments starting July 2014.

The Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management has more than 50 full-time faculty and an enrollment of approximately 1,500 graduate and undergraduate students. SBM offers Bachelor of Science degrees in accounting, finance, business administration, marketing, human resource management, hospitality management, and information science and systems; post-baccalaureate certificate in project management; master of business administration; master of project management; and Ph.D. in business administration.

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PROFILES IN INNOVATION

One on One

by Lango Deen ldeen@ccgmag.com

THE LEGACY OF CARL MACK: WHAT IT TAKES TO BE BOLD

A

fter years of working as an engineer in metro King County, Seattle, Washington, coordinating the county’s award-winning minority engineering internship program and serving as president of the Seattle Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Carl Mack thought he understood what it took to be bold.

But during his first months as the executive director of one of the largest studentgoverned engineering societies — and seeing the deterioration in achievement of African-American children in public schools — the Mississippi-born mechanical engineer developed a new level of commitment to the STEM workforce challenge.

“Black kids don’t have a problem finding role models in entertainment,” said Mack, who ended eight years of continuous service with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) last fall. “We can get more Black kids in the STEM pipeline.”

In 2007, Mack met with Rich Rosen, then corporate vice president of education and philanthropy for Battelle, at a famous brownstone in downtown Columbus, Ohio.

As chief architect of Battelle’s STEM education strategy, Rosen oversaw contributions of more than $100 million in grants.

Mack shared his vision and after listening Rosen asked, “Would a million dollars be bold enough?”

“It depends on what you mean to be bold?” Mack pushed. “A million for an education initiative for Black children bold?”

“Yes,” affirmed Rosen.

Rosen had expertise in the field as Battelle’s lead on education initiatives. He helped found an Early College High School in Columbus that became a model STEM high school upon which others around the state are based. Rosen also was the executive director of the Ohio STEM Learning Network (OSLN). OSLN built on the design 8 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

Carl Mack, former executive director, National Society of Black Engineers

principles of Metro to connect a network of 10 STEM schools in Ohio.

In short, Rosen got Mack’s dream.

Carl Mack’s Dream By the summer of 2007, Mack received the first tranche of $350,000 to launch the Summer Engineering Experi-

ence for Kids (SEEK) Program.

“The first SEEK camp was at Friendship Charter School in Washington, D.C.” Mack recalled. “The ratio was 6:1 because we wanted to keep kids engaged. I challenged NSBE, as Malcolm X had, to ‘live the mission’ and they answered the call.”

Last summer, SEEK was in 10 cit-

SEEK is a fun and engaging experience, led by NSBE engineering students and technical professionals dedicated to giving back. The three-week program is open to students in third through fifth grade or sixth through eighth. The program is held at a local elementary school or middle school, and includes 100 students in each grade level, a total of 300 students served per program. The camp is a commuter-based program for students, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The 50 collegiate mentors who facilitate the program reside on a nearby college campus, arriving one week early for training and preparation. SEEK utilizes hands-on design curriculum supplied by educational curriculum companies and sponsors.

Campers work in teams, using their knowledge to solve problems and create products while discovering the underlying math and science principles involved in these processes. Each week, campers take on a new project, culminating with a presentation, design competition and physical competitions that all parents are encouraged to attend.

www.blackengineer.com

ies — Washington, D.C.; San Diego, California; Oakland, California; Denver, Colorado; Houston, Texas; New Orleans, Louisiana; Detroit, Michigan; Brooklyn, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Jackson, Mississippi — with some camps running simultaneously.

Denver was the most diverse, but in Jackson, the program drew 350 Black girls in third through fifth grade. Over three weeks, they were taught by 50 women engineers from all over the country, exposed to STEM through hands-on engineering projects, to the roles and responsibilities of engineers and African-American images in STEM. Mississippi state leaders took notice and the governor showed up to give his support.

“We got coverage in every city we went. From the Washington Post to the San Francisco Cardinal.”

Mack says he once asked parents what the word “free” meant to them and they said cheap.

“I was determined parents understood that this was a Class A program, provided at no cost to you,” he said. “I told them to entrust us with your children because NSBE is in the best position to expose Black children to engineering.”

In March 2005, charged with growing the membership of NSBE, Mack surpassed the target by more than 60 percent in his first year. Over the next five, the organization set records for membership, reaching 35,776 members in 2010, up from its previous high of 12,842 before his arrival.

Mack was also instrumental in increasing NSBE’s financial resources to record highs and helping expand the organization’s cash reserves from $3.5 million to $9 million; securing the largest-ever grant of $1 million from a NSBE sponsor, helping build NSBE’s sponsorship to record levels, bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars to strengthen NSBE’s IT infrastructure, pushing attendance at NSBE’s annual convention to nearly 10,000 attendwww.blackengineer.com

ees and working with NSBE’s national executive board to pay off the mortgage on NSBE’s new world headquarters building, among other highlights.

In 2013, when Mack and NSBE parted ways, the board wrote: “Under Mack’s direction, NSBE grew from 13,000 members to a more than 30,000 member organization and heightened the visibility of the Society. NSBE ‘luv’ and NSBE pride now flourish from energetic, intelligent Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) participants, to hardworking collegiate members, to dedicated NSBE professionals and other committed stakeholders.”

“SEEK raised more money than any other program in NSBE’s 40-year history,” Mack said. “We started at 30 percent retention and increased to 80 percent. At each camp, we had students meet parents before the start and introduce themselves: ‘my name is …I go to Jackson State University. I study mechanical engineering.’

They were paid a $2,000 stipend, given a plane ticket to fly out to camp, provided with housing and three meals a day.

People all over the country wanted to partner with us: the President Clinton Global Initiative and MIT. I used the resources and told the world where my focus was,” said the long-time advocate.

“Parents formed SEEK Parent Teacher Associations. We had common ground and a commitment to the community. Yet folks still ask ‘how do we get more Black kids?’”

Mack tells the story of a past symposium with the same theme he’d been invited to speak on once. Before he got to the podium, a young Black engineering graduate came up to him and said he’d been looking for a job for three months.

“So I told the young man that if he wanted me to help him, he had to let me do it as I knew how and he agreed.”

Mack stood up and told his audience if they were really sincere about hiring diverse talent there was a young man in

the room who’d been overlooked because of a past indiscretion.

During Mack’s tenure as chief servant of the Seattle King County branch, he worked to revitalize the branch’s youth chapter. His service also led to an increase from 600 members to more than 2,000, as well as an increase in revenues from approximately $35,000 to more than $180,000. Many longtime residents of the Greater Seattle area considered Mack “one of the most effective presidents in the 92-year history of the branch.”

These days, Mack says he is Mr. Mom. His focus is on his 11- and 7-year old sons. He also has an adult daughter. A few days ago he said he was happy that he was home to see his younger son learn to ride a bike. His wife, a chemical engineer whom he met at NSBE’s 2000 Annual National Convention, held the home front for years while he criss-crossed the country living his passion to make sure no child was left behind, that 100,000 children had access to SEEK. A noted historian, author and speaker, Mack’s lectures on Martin Luther King Jr. and Black history engage audiences of every age, gender, race and ethnicity.

Mack has received numerous awards for his involvement in the community and humanitarian efforts.

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, he is a graduate and a Distinguished Engineering Fellow of Mississippi State University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering. On May 8, 2010, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Clarkson University.

Mack is a Lifetime Member of NSBE and a Life Member of the NAACP. He also sits on the Minority Advisory Board of the Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State University, Board of Trustees of the SAE Foundation (Society of Automotive Engineers), and the Clarkson University Board of Trustees.

USBE&IT I FALL 2014 9

An

by Lango Deen ldeen@ccgmag.com

INSPIRATIONAL

Engineer

In 2015, Ford Motor Company plans to embark on what the automaker has called its most ambitious launch, with more vehicles in a single year than in more than a century. To accelerate innovation across the company, Ford appointed Dr. Ken Washington, 2013 BEYA Emerald Honoree for Research Leadership, to oversee its technology strategy. As part of Ford’s senior leadership, Washington, who was appointed Vice President, Research and Advanced Engineering, this summer, will oversee development and implementation of Ford’s technology strategy and plans — helping Ford’s drive for innovation throughout all areas of its business.

From developing nuclear safeguards to information science, advanced materials and nano systems, Ken Washington’s engineering career has covered just about every branch and discipline. Washington earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as his doctorate degree, all in Nuclear Engineering, from Texas A&M University.

Nuclear engineers research and develop the processes, instruments, and systems used to derive benefits from nuclear energy and radiation. Many nuclear engineers find industrial and medical uses for radioactive materials — for example, in equipment used in medical diagnosis and treatment. Other nuclear engineers monitor nuclear facilities to identify any practices that violate safety regulations.

As a new post-grad, Dr. Washington went to work at Sandia National Laboratories, a multi-program laboratory managed and operated for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. There, he developed nuclear safety computer models for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission that were used worldwide to help make nuclear energy safer.

As Washington grew in the Sandia professional environment, he rose through the ranks taking on challenges and positions in information technology and computer science, eventually to top management as chief information officer at Sandia. Washington says one of his early career choices was the decision to broaden from nuclear engineering to information technology and high performance computing. High performance computing allows scientists and engineers to solve complex science, engineering, and business problems using applications that require high bandwidth, low latency networking, and very high compute capabilities.

“My success in these new fields gave me 10 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

the confidence and credibility to broaden even further later in my career into other areas such as privacy, space research, and now automotive engineering.”

In August 2014, Washington was appointed vice president of Research and Advanced Engineering at the Ford Motor Company. He leads Ford’s worldwide research organization, overseeing the development and implementation of the company’s technology strategy and plans.

Dr. Ken Washington, Vice President of Research and Advanced Engineering, Ford Motor Company

www.blackengineer.com USBE&IT I FALL 2014 10

Prior to joining Ford, he was with Lockheed Martin Corporation for seven years. He served as Lockheed Martin’s first chief privacy officer, a role in which he built the company’s privacy program, set the privacy strategy direction and established a team of privacy professionals to execute the strategy. Washington also served as the vice president and chief technology officer for the Lockheed Martin IT organization, where he was responsible for shaping the future of the corporation’s information technology enterprise.

As vice president of the Space Technology Advanced Research and Development Laboratories at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, he was responsible for leading an organization of more than 600 scientists and engineers in performing research and development in space science and related R&D, such as solar dynamics and astrophysics, optics and electro-optics, radiofrequency and photonic devices, control systems and information science, advanced materials and nanosystems, thermal sciences and more.

‘A good education is the key to a good life’ Without a doubt, Ken Washington’s three engineering degrees and his education have opened doors, given him scope with a variety of career opportunities. It was while in high school he decided he wanted to be an engineer, inspired by 10 wise words his father used a lot. ‘A good education is the key to a good life.’

“He walked the talk and obtained a Ph.D. at a time when it was unusual for a young Black man to do so. I figured that if he could do it, I could do it too,” Washington said of his father’s example. Growing up, young Ken was also curious about how things worked.

“I enjoyed tinkering with technology for as long as I could remember. My teachers and high school advisors told me that I should be an engineer so that’s what I signed up to study, even though I didn’t know what that really meant at the time. Turns out they were right.”

On reflection, Dr. Washington says it would have been great to have had some engineering role models.

“This is why I don’t hesitate to support STEM efforts serving as a role model to young people when I can,” he said.

Washington is a frequent speaker at high schools and has volunteered at a local halfway house. He has also been a supporter of the San Jose Tech Museum, offering ideas on how the facility can be a driving force for introducing science, technology, engineering and math to youth.

When he graduated high school, did he think he would be where he is today?

“I honestly didn’t think much about where I would end up, and I certainly never imagined that I would be a Vice President at Ford Motor Company. In my junior and senior year I was very focused on being well prepared for college, which for me meant learning a lot and getting good grades. My parents taught me that if I did well in the moment, then future opportunities would be available to me.”

Washington added that although he never considered any other career path but engineering, he could now envision himself as a musician (he plays guitar) or photographer. Financial security and success in engineering leadership has enabled him to enjoy both of these fields as a hobby, he adds. A favorite gadget is his digital camera.

“I think it is artistically liberating that you can experiment www.blackengineer.com

with taking different photos without worrying about running out of film while also receiving immediate feedback about the quality of the composition and photo,” he explained. “This has fundamentally changed the nature of photography. Also, the ubiquity of high resolution low cost digital cameras, including those built into our cell phones, has opened the field to many more people.”

And true to his creative problem-solving skills and ideas which have taken him into new territories, and alternative ways of thinking, he added: “At Ford we leverage digital camera technology to assist the driver with lane keeping, backing up more safely, and even parking. I think this is a wonderful thing.”

During the first 14 years of Washington’s career he made the decision to move into management early, about 5 years after he began working as an engineer.

“This decision allowed me to build a solid and diverse foundation of management and leadership skills over my career that has proven to be useful to me as I encounter a wide variety of leadership challenges,” he said.

The best advice he can offer a student starting out in their first STEM job/co-op or internship?

“Focus on excellence — in your work ethic and the quality of your work product. If you do great work and go about it with a positive attitude and a strong work ethic, you will get noticed and other opportunities will be presented to you.”

He adds that the most impactful thing on his career success has been to embrace being a lifelong learner.

“That means reading different types of books, magazines, websites, and other sources often, and staying curious about things that you don’t know.”

He also notes that the most helpful life lessons have been his failures.

“I have made my fair share of leadership missteps and collectively these have taught me the importance of humility, the power of effective communication, and the effectiveness of taking a servant leadership perspective.”

What’s the next big thing?

“I am squarely focused on the job I have to do today for Ford, which is to lead our worldwide research organization, overseeing development and implementation of the company’s technology strategy and plans. I couldn’t be more excited to be in this role at Ford at a time when the auto industry is facing an innovation inflection point. To me that’s a pretty big next thing.”

The innovative Dr. Washington also sees new horizons in the Internet of things.

“The Internet has matured and evolved from being a collection of websites that you spend time reading to a complex interconnected cloud of services that people and things access directly and indirectly. When most of us are on the Internet often we are doing an activity that we historically wouldn’t recognize as “being on the Internet” — such as viewing a digital map, listening to music, or driving a car.

In these moments we are being serviced by a wide variety of Internet connected information sources. This is very exciting and has many interesting implications for future vehicles and personal mobility that we are thinking a lot about at Ford.”

Washington, 54, was born in October 1960. He is a fellow of the MIT Seminar XXI program on International Relations.

USBE&IT I FALL 2014 11

PROFILES IN INNOVATION

Career Voices

by Frank McCoy fmccoy@ccgmag.com

IF YOU TEACH THEM, THEY WILL GET JOBS LANCE LUCAS PREPARES A NEW GENERATION OF IT EXPERTS

T

he professional life and aspirations of Lance Lucas exemplify the adage that it is not where you start from that matters, but where you end up.

Lucas is founder and CEO of Baltimore’s Digit All Systems (DAS). While accurate, it is coldly clinical to simply describe Digit All Systems as “a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to bridging the digital divide and bringing the benefits of expanding technology to everyone.”

Lucas created DAS, www.digitallsystems.org, in 1998 to transform the future of overlooked, underappreciated, and often at-risk minority youth in Baltimore. He provides them with the opportunity to learn programming languages and trains them to earn programming certification for entry into high-demand, wellpaid 21st century information technology jobs in public, private, and nonprofit organizations.

Those steps, says Lucas, transform the teens and young men and women into role models whose presence bolsters communities and influences their contemporaries.

Digit All Systems has trained more than 10,000 and certified more than 500 clients, most of whom are Black or Hispanic, and half of whom are women. In 2009, DAS took over the rights to Maryland’s largest computerized testing center from CompUSA after that company went out of business.

DAS provides courses daily, evenings, and on weekends in Comp TIA Certification, Adobe Certification, HTML Programming, A+ computer technicians, C++ Language, Microsoft Certification, and basic computing. Courses are taught at Digit All’s Baltimore headquarters and other locations.

In Baltimore, DAS centers are located at 200 Lexington

12 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

Lance Lucas, founder and CEO of Baltimore’s Digit All Systems

www.blackengineer.com

Street and 210 East Lexington Street. In 2014, DAS will open a certification training center in the Veterans Enterprise Service and Training Group in Washington, D.C. Fall and Rise When Lucas tells his personal story to his youthful clients, he gains the credibility to show them that being poor or making mistakes does not derail success as an adult.

Long story short, during high school Lucas was a budding entrepreneur with the right drive and the wrong idea. He was caught creating and selling fake concert and event tickets to his classmates, and expelled from high school.

In response, he joined the U.S. Army Reserve at 17 and attended night school to get his high school diploma. At Coppin State, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in social science, Lucas says he became interested in information technology. Soon he was fixing and building computers, and told Coppin’s chairperson of social sciences, Dr. John L. Hudgins, someday he wanted to share what he learned with young people.

His teacher told him “don’t wait, just do it.”

The proof is in the testing and jobs Today DAS has many success stories. In 2010, Lucas met and enrolled twin brothers Tracy and Trayvon Leonard and their friend, Destiny Thompson, all of whom were living in a homeless shelter.

The trio completed a DAS three-month training program and gained A+ Certification. The Computing Technology Industry Association, (CompTIA), which developed and sponsors A+ Certification, is a global association of IT industry companies sharing the goal of standardized qualifications for IT pros. A+ is a vendor-neutral certification that certifies the competency of

www.blackengineer.com

computer industry service professionals and a must for those who wants an internationally recognized credential.

In 2014, Trayvon, now 22 years old, whose first job was teaching A+ in high school and building computers, works at the Digital Harbor Foundation. Tracy is an instructor at DAS, and Thompson is a senior technician at a local Staples.

Lucas says graduates of the Digit All program belong to “untapped populations” with a tremendous upside. At least 85 percent of each class of Digit All’s trainees receive A+ Certification, despite the fact that many enter the program with a reading level of between fourth and eighth grade. By contrast, he says the A+ Certification rate of graduates of for-profit IT schools and community college programs is 20 percent.

Certified IT personnel are in demand in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Some IT leaders call the tri-state area the Silicon Valley of Cybersecurity, with Cyber Command and the NSA at Fort Meade, plus a host of federal agencies and contractors.

DAS succeeds because it brings IT education to potential students on their level. It has created a simplified but comprehensive curriculum focused on job creation, economic development and entrepreneurship that Lucas says has the potential to “propel the organic growth of a professional population in local neighborhoods.”

A continuous proselytizer, last summer Lucas told children attending the Black Engineer Technology Awareness Program at Morgan State University about education and job opportunities in STEM. His presentation is in sync with DAS work with 60 Baltimore schools and placement of computer labs in every Baltimore public housing project.

The process DAS is getting noticed. In a November 2013 article on

USBE&IT I FALL 2014 13

PROFILES IN INNOVATION

Career Voices cont’d Technical.ly, Daniel Atzmon, a policy analyst with the Baltimore mayor’s office of information technology, said that initially DAS “certification numbers really seemed too good to be true.” But, “once I started meeting the teachers he [Lucas] works with, I became a believer.”

The key, says Lucas, “is that kids want to do something positive but there are no pure paths to something positive. It is our responsibility to help them find the way. It is literally a dynamic shift to present them with hard and soft skills using a holistic perspective.”

On average, a total of 50-55 students are instructed annually in the DAS classrooms, and about 52 are taught in the Baltimore Public School system. The 85 percent certification rate comprises both DAS and public students.

Generally, students coming to the Digit All system offices are enrolled in a two-month program. In the public schools, the program takes from one semester to a year to complete, as it cannot be taught all day every day for eight weeks. Instructing older non-high school students means there are also no behavior management issues.

Digit All has three full-time and 21 part-time instructors.

Lucas says that DAS once hired outside techs as trainers, but after he had a critical mass of certified graduates, they were hired as instructors. DAS pays instructors between $20 and $25 an hour.

When fundraising is completed, Lucas intends to start a cloud computing certification program for 15 to 20 students using servers donated by the federal government. According to Wanted Analytics, a business intelligence company, the average salary range for cloud computing jobs is $90,650 to $110,800.

In 2013, analyst firm IDC reported that “public and private spending in cloud computing will increase exponentially over the next few years, resulting in an available jobs boost of nearly 14 million positions worldwide.”

Another Digit All program is Tech Mentors. It introduces chief information officers, chief executive officers, and Digit All graduates working in IT to each new class of students.

Technology and content mesh Content may become obsolete, but certification never will be. Lucas says there is a symbiotic relationship between technicians and content creators. As DAS trains techs, they will increase the number of individuals who will create digital apps, programs, and companies.

That is why DAS also runs an Adobe certification testing center and teaches Linux. “We want people who are actually working in the industry. Learning code is the start. A tech needs 14 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

a minimum of three years of intense training before programming,” Lucas said.

DAS operates nationally recognized, industry-specific certifications and is the only public testing facility in Baltimore, and uses seven testing platforms, including Certiport, Thompson Prometric, Castle Worldwide, PAN, Pearson Vue, the Electronic Technicians Association, and Comira.

DAS A+ certification grads have a variety of jobs. They include a 15-year-old paid intern at cybersecurity firm Cyber Point, a 17-year-old in the mayor’s office of information technology, and four in their early 20s with IT tech or tech instructor jobs at Boeing, Constellation Energy, and Lockheed Martin.

DAS places 96 percent of its certification holders in jobs, and 82 percent of them work in information technology or computing-related sectors, according to Lucas.

Running Digit All is good for the soul, but won’t pay the mortgage or make Lucas rich. He earns $7,500 annually from the nonprofit, but makes his living with DAS chief operating officer, Joseph Sutton III, operating Locus Technology, which provides industry-specific software for remote access support to oil, welding and drilling companies.

At least 95 percent of DAS is funded by service delivery, Lucas said. DAS supporters, partners, and sponsors include Lockheed Martin, Verizon, the Abell Foundation, BAE Systems, T. Rowe Price, Keller Professional Services, Urban Video Game Academy, and GiveCorps, which is a funding source for charities.

DAS also recently entered into a partnership with LifeJourney, a Baltimore firm trying to spark youth interest in science, technology, engineering, and math-related skills and careers.

Lucas is rarely off the clock. Besides Digit All Systems, he is a Maryland governor-appointed member of the Maryland Offshore Wind Development Business Development Advisory Committee, and president of both the State of Maryland Black Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Baltimore Black Chamber of Commerce.

Ever the innovator, Lucas has novel ideas to attract attention to IT education. Last summer, he launched a Baltimore program, Guns for Laptops, to try to make city streets safer and broaden educational opportunities. More than 200 news outlets covered the exchange, and 57 guns were traded for laptops. He will try it again in 2014.

What’s next for DAS and Lucas? He dreams of replicating what began in Baltimore in other areas, including the state of Mississippi and Chicago. Lucas is not naïve, however, about the difficulty of taking a local success into new territory. He says the key is moving carefully and strategically using DAS Baltimore as his model and guide. www.blackengineer.com

EDUCATION Information is our most powerful resource, whether we receive it via the printed page, a computer screen, or from a dedicated teacher. In this section, we look at the trends and developments that are expanding STEM education.

Pell Grant Program continues to be challenged A

by Gale Horton Gay ghorton@ccgmag.com

chieving American dreams require a solid foundation, and for most young people the best way to build that foundation is by getting a college education.

One of the programs many have come to rely on to finance part of their higher education is the Pell Grant.

Begun in 1972, the federally funded grants are awarded to needy undergraduates and unlike loans they do not have to be repaid. The U.S. Department of Education, which administers the Pell Grant program, determines financial need based on a formula which takes into account student income, parents’ income, family size, assets, expenses, etc.

The grants have grown in popularity due to a complex number of factors — the nation’s economic downturn, more minorities graduating high school, a declining dropout rate, rising college costs and more. Increasing numbers of young people are applying for the funds at a time when legislators and policymakers keep tampering with the rules of the program and its budget.

“I always describe what we’ve seen with Pell in the last five or six years to be a perfect storm,” said Megan McClean, a policy analyst for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) in Washington, D.C. “It really wasn’t just one thing.”

At one time, Pell Grants covered all of a two-year college

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education and half of the cost of a four-year college education.

Now, experts say, it only covers about a third of that.

With a government shutdown looming in 2011, congressional leaders agreed to changes in the Pell program, reducing the eligibility period from 18 semesters to 12. It also made students without a high school diploma or GED equivalent ineligible for the funds. By one estimate, those changes made some 62,000 to 100,000 students unqualified for the aid. This lack of funding means that many may have dropped out of school and others may have decided not to enroll at all.

According to the Institute for College Access and Success, African-American students comprise about a quarter of all Pell Grant recipients but make up 41 percent of Pell Grant recipients working toward a degree after six years. “Thus, more than two out of every five students impacted by the new rule abolishing Pell Grants for students in college for more than six years will be African Americans,” The Journal for Blacks in Higher Education states.

The summer Pell Grant program also was eliminated in 2010, preventing students from getting funding for summer classes.

Currently Pell Grants provide a maximum of $5,730 for the

USBE&IT I FALL 2014 15

EDUCATION

2014-2015 year — an increase compared to the 2013-2014 year maximum award of $5,645.

In President Barack Obama’s 2014 State of the Union address, he reiterated his support for education, and his proposed 2015 reflected that position as well.

“Opportunity is who we are,” Obama said in his address.

“And the defining project of our generation is to restore that promise.”

The president’s 2015 budget request “reflects his strong belief that education is a vital investment in the nation’s economic competitiveness, in its people, and in its communities,” according to the Department of Education’s website. “The administration’s request for $69 billion in discretionary appropriations represents an increase of 2 percent over the previous year and slightly more than the 2012 discretionary level for education before the sequester. Three-quarters of that funding goes to financial aid for students in college, special education, and highpoverty schools.”

He proposed fully funding the Pell Grant program to a maximum award of $5,830. In June a Senate panel gave its approval to increasing the grant by $100 to the $5,830 level. However, Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, has presented a budget endorsed by Republican leaders that would reduce the maximum Pell award to $3,040.

Recognizing that reforms are likely inevitable for the program, some Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are offering to help.

Deborah Saunders-White, chancellor of North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in Durham, sent a request to the U.S. Department of Education asking that the university serve as an experimental site for possible reforms in the federal Pell Grant system. She has proposed that NCCU experiment with a performance-based Pell Grant system in which students would be given an incentive to complete their education in four years. About three quarters of the undergraduate student body at NCCU qualifies for federal Pell Grants.

HBCUs are significantly affected by what happens to the program.

Deborah Saunders-White The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education reported in 2008 that more than 155,000 students at the nation’s HBCUs received federal Pell Grants. The National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education stated in a new release that at a 16 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE PELL GRANT PROGRAM

The Pell Grant program is facing a number of challenges, but it still provides economic opportunities for a large number of students.

However to get the most from the program, young people are offered the following advice: • Get advice from college counselors and financial aid officials • Carefully review information needed for the application process • Apply early to eliminate any possibility of being turned down due to not meeting deadlines • Be serious about completing one’s education in the shortest time possible as some program changes limit the number of eligible semesters • Ensure that you comply with rules regarding any remaining eligible for any grants and/or scholarships • Understand the program and stay up to date on possible changes and how it might affect you • Explore multiple options for funding education

majority of all Black colleges, two thirds or more of all enrolled students receive federal Pell Grants. “There are eight HBCUs at which more than 90 percent of all students receive Pell Grants,” they determined.

Increasing Pell awards was a priority of Obama in his first term, and spending on the program has increased from $16 billion in his first year of office to $32 billion today.

In a NASFAA new release McClean said the majority of Pell awards are well targeted, going to families earning less than $30,000. The program has safeguard to ensure students attend class, maintain good grades and making the proper progress to graduate on time.

“It really is considered the cornerstone program of federal student aid,” said McClean. “It’s the one focused on access and need, and it really has changed a lot of lives over its history.” www.blackengineer.com

BEST PRACTICES FOR SUCCESS Some of the brightest minds in STEM, business and government offer their insights and advice about living and working to one’s best potential.

First Steps

by USBE Online

EXTREME SCIENCE INTERSHIPS

J

ohns Hopkins University and Morgan State University have joined forces in a new collaborative educational program designed to combine the strengths of both institutions to benefit their students and faculty members, as well as the fields of science and engineering.

The “Extreme Science Internships” (ESI) program will build a bridge between talented science and engineering students at Morgan State and faculty and researchers at the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute (HEMI) at the Johns Hopkins University’s Whiting School of Engineering, as well as other universities, laboratories and research institutes across nine states and Germany. Researchers at HEMI advance the fundamental science associated with materials and structures under extreme conditions, such as high-velocity impact.

Through the five-year, $500,000 internship program, select Morgan State undergraduate and graduate students will spend eight to 15 weeks working with top-level researchers and scholars at HEMI and 14 other institutions that are part of the Materials in Extreme Dynamic Environments (MEDE) alliance. The funding also supports several students working in internships at Morgan State in preparation for external internships next summer.

Funding for ESI is provided by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory through HEMI as part of the Materials in Extreme Dynamic Environments Collaborative Research Alliance. The program’s first eight students will begin work this summer — three at Johns Hopkins, two at the California Institute of Technology, one at Drexel University, one at the Southwest Research Institute (Texas) and one at the Ernst Mach Institute in Germany. The student interns will work on projects involving computational mechanics, high-energy density physics, molecular dynamics, computational sciences, multi-scale materials research and more.

Jaime Arribas Starkey-El, a 20-year-old Morgan State junior from Baltimore, is looking forward to the opportunity.

“I am really attracted to Caltech’s interdisciplinary culture and small size; their research ecosystem is among the best in the world. The faculty consists of top scientists who are extremely passionate about what they do. I aspire to go there for my graduate studies,” said Starkey-El, an engineering physics major.

“Through the Extreme Science Internship program, I hope to make meaningful contributions to science and to make great connections in the process.”

T.E. Schlesinger, Benjamin T. Rome Dean of the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins, sees the program in the larger context of Johns Hopkins Engineering’s mission to make a positive impact on the world. www.blackengineer.com

“In my view, the quality that defines the academic pursuit of engineering is its power to move beyond the traditional boundaries of universities to solve real-world problems and to make life better for people,” Schlesinger said. “It is partnerships such as this new one between Johns Hopkins and Morgan State that will allow us to do important work that makes a difference. The incredible global needs of the 21st century demand such strategic collaborations.”

Alvin P. Kennedy, interim dean of the School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences at Morgan State, agreed.

“The JHU-Morgan Extreme Science Internship program enables us to redefine the model for undergraduate and graduate research opportunities. The antiquated model of simply sending students to institutions with no previous research experience is not viable in today’s competitive global STEM ecosystem,” Kennedy said.

K.T. Ramesh, director of HEMI, considers the program a “major investment” in the future.

“Scientists understand the world. Engineers change it.

Our aim is to educate the people who will change our world,” Ramesh said. “Just as important, Johns Hopkins and Morgan both are dedicated to engaging with and supporting Baltimore city and the state, and this program presents a concrete example of that commitment.”

USBE&IT I FALL 2014 17

BEST PRACTICES FOR SUCCESS

Corporate Life

by Eric Price eprice@ccgmag.com

BUSINESS ETIQUETTE THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION

I

n the workplace, what you don’t know can definitely hurt you. Business etiquette and manners play an important role in the relationship building process. These unstated rules are in place to respect and protect time, people, and processes. When you understand the rules and expectations, you gain greater confidence and assertiveness as you navigate organizational politics and develop key connections.

What is business etiquette? Business etiquette is the behavior that is expected by employees in the business environment.

First impressions are critical in a business environment, because they tell others a lot about you. These impressions may or may not be accurate and can be conveyed verbally, such as your answers given during the interview process, or non-verbally, such 18 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

as the way that you dress. Here are the top 10 “dos” and “don’ts” for job seekers and new employees in the business environment.

1. Come prepared. The first time that you may meet someone face-to-face in a business setting is the job interview. The best advice for any interview is to come prepared. This should include researching the company, dressing the part, and preparing your resume as well as your answers to the questions that the interviewer may ask.

2. Do your research. Researching the company is a necessity when preparing for an interview. Your research should give insight into what others thought. Websites, such as Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and HR.com, list reviews from employees and can give a view of the company culture. Visit the company webwww.blackengineer.com

site to understand the organizational branding, how they see themselves, what is their mission statement, and structure. These are important elements that can tell help you determine if the organization is a good fit for you.

3. Make the right impression. First impressions say a lot and none more than your appearance. Observers will draw conclusions about you before the first word is spoken. When choosing your attire for the job interview, contemplate selecting conservative apparel. Plan your outfit a few days before to determine that you have the right tools to convey the right impression. Take into account to remove excessive jewelry, polish shoes, choose clothes that fit the company culture, color coordinate, and comb your hair an appropriately for the business environment.

4. Sell your brand. Your resume lists previous work experience and you want to stand out in a positive way. When discussing your experience, use examples that support your achievements or show career growth. You can never have too many examples. When preparing your answers, consider questions that may seem unrelated or unimportant to the resume.

These include strengths or weaknesses, how would you tell your boss if you disagree, tell me about a time that you suggested a new idea, what would co-workers say about you, or what is the last good book that you read? The interviewer’s aim is to determine whether the candidate is a good fit for the company as well as qualified.

5. Practice, practice, practice. Practicing your interview skills will allow you to focus on your answers. Ask a family member or friend to perform a mock interview so that you can get a feel for the process and how to shape responses. Your answers should focus on what you can bring to the company.

Your closing statement should focus on you linking yourself to the company which will allow the interviewer to visualize you as part of the company.

6. Communication is key. Proper communication techniques are crucial to success. In the business world, it is important to be aware of the communication methods. These include the telephone, voicemail, and email. In today’s business world, telephones and cellphones allow us to contact others immediately, so we are constantly “on call.” In the workplace, meetings, projects, and bosses prevent us from talking to others. It is important to quickly state your reason for calling. When calling a co-worker who does not answer, it is good business practice to leave a message that addresses who you are, when you are calling, why you are calling, and if there is some follow-up action. Leaving a message such as, “Hey, it’s me in accounting.

Call me,” does not give the receiver enough information to reply. www.blackengineer.com

An appropriate detailed message would state, “Hi Dave, this is Henry in accounting, and I am calling you on Wednesday, May 7, 2014 at 11:30 am. I have a question about your reimbursement request from last week that you submitted. The hotel has charged you for 3 nights and your request states 2 nights. Give me a call to discuss. My extension is 134.”

7. Social media influence. Many business professionals are using email or texting for responses that can be briefly answered.

Proper electronic etiquette requires that you are comfortable with the message content and the format is appropriate for the setting. With the prevalence of social media and text messaging abbreviations, keep in mind that responding to your boss’s inquiry about the whereabouts of a co-worker with, “I.D.K.” is not an appropriate response. Be mindful that companies can keep conversations for years, which includes telephone, text, and emails. These formats can be backed up and stored on servers or company main frames for years. Something written in haste or as a joke early in your career could be the stopping block for your career advancement in the organization.

8. Choose your words wisely. Be aware of what you say to others. The use of nonstandard or informal words can alter the intended message meaning. Some common examples include the word “irregardless” instead of “regardless” and “ain’t” instead of “is not” or “are not.” Being aware of and correcting these common mistakes will quickly set you apart from others, giving you an advantage when senior executives are looking to promote an employee who can properly represent the organization.

9. Remember the name. When meeting new people, it is important to remember his or her name. This can be difficult when being introduced to several people at the same time. An easy method is to repeat the person’s name when saying hello.

With group introductions, break them up one by one. For example, instead of saying “Hi Kelly, hi Karen, Bob, Sam,” focus on each person individually. Start with “Kelly, it is nice to meet you. Hello, Karen, it is nice to meet you, too.”

10. The art of the handshake. Believe it or not, your handshake can define you. The handshake is an intimate exchange between two people and can tell the other person about you. For example, a loose grip can make you seem uninterested while a strong grip can make you seem overly aggressive. Grip the other person’s hand firmly, shake three times, and let go. Stand at arm’s length. If you need to lean in or take a step back while shaking someone’s hand, then you are not at arm’s length. The hands should be web to web and palm to palm. Make sure to have eye contact when shaking someone’s hand. This may seem like a lot to be aware of yet it is a useful skill for everyone.

USBE&IT I FALL 2014 19

Destenie Nock, graduate of North Carolina A&T

What I Did This Summer

S

by Gale Horton Gay ghorton@ccgmag.com

ummer is a treasured time for college students. Some want nothing more than to escape the intense workload of higher education. However, others seek experiences that are tough, challenging and bring with them immense rewards that help to better prepare them for their careers. Here are the summer experiences of a select group of ambitious and forward-thinking young people.

Roscoe A. Johnson IV Now that Roscoe A. Johnson IV has his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering under his belt, he’s got his sights set on graduate school.

The 22-year-old, who graduated from Morgan State University in May, will spend the summer preparing for that next step www.blackengineer.com

— the pursuit of a master’s degree in systems engineering from the University of Southern California.

In the meantime, Johnson will be interning at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland working on Python guided user interface for a radar system. The opportunity at Johns Hopkins came about after Johnson visited the career USBE&IT I FALL 2014 21

services center in Morgan State University’s Engineering Department.

Johnson, a native of Baltimore and the recipient of a community award at the Black Engineer of the Year Award conference in February 2014, said he hopes that from his summer experience he will gain better insight into his future and learn the types of projects he most wants to work on professionally. “I also want to learn different programming and leaderships skills,” he said.

Although he is unsure of the exact field he would like to go into, Johnson said he’s leaning toward a career in modeling and simulation for radar systems.

Destenie Nock Before Destenie Nock takes off for an international graduate school experience, she’s giving back to the community in a most significant way. The 22-year-old, who received two bachelor degrees in electrical engineering and applied math in May from North Carolina A&T State University, volunteered to tutor math at an elementary school in Greensboro, North Carolina. Throughout the school year, Nock had volunteered at the school and decided to continue doing so over the summer.

Nock, a native of Calvert County, Maryland, is taking a bit of a break from engineering studies and will be working to earn a master’s degree in leadership and sustainable development in Ireland. After that she plans to re-focus on engineering and secure a doctorate in industrial engineering.

Nock, who was bestowed with an academic award at the Black Engineer of the Year Award conference in February 2014, said that for a career she’s most interested in helping developing nations enhance their power grids and educational programs.

Whitney Wilson There’s nothing lightweight about the internship Whitney Wilson is doing this summer.

The 20-year-old bioengineering major at the University of Maryland, College Park, is working at DuPont as a product stewardship and regulatory intern in the industrial biosciences division.

Wilson, who will be a senior in the fall, is tasked with compiling information and designing a training module on global cosmetic regulations that can potentially be used throughout the division.

This opportunity, located in Wilmington, Delaware, came about through her school’s Career Center’s Listserv.

Wilson, who received an academic award at the Black Engineer of the Year Award conference in February 2014, hopes to 22 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

gain experience working in the product stewardship and regulatory area. “I have not had the chance to work in such a large, interdisciplinary, global company,” said Wilson. “I look forward to being able to apply my knowledge in a new way, especially since this is a non-technical position.”

A native of Bear, Delaware, Wilson has a clear vision for her future. “Ultimately I would like to work in STEM education,” she said “I plan to go to graduate school and hopefully get a master’s degree in engineering and public policy. I want to use my knowledge and skill-sets to help with the STEM education of others.”

Ciara Lynton Ciara Lynton, 19, hasn’t determined her ultimate career goal.

Still that’s not stopping her from diving head first into the engineering field. The junior at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, spent this past summer in NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Lynton, who was recognized with a research award at the Black Engineer of the Year Award 2014 conference, became eligible for the summer internship after she was admitted into the NASA MUREP scholarship program last September “I hope to gain a plethora of knowledge about robotics,” said Lynton who worked in NASA’s human-robotics department.

“Also, I hope that this opportunity helps me to narrow down my interest in engineering.”

While she ponders her career path, Lynton said she is sure of one thing.

“I would like to make a difference in the world through my electrical engineering background,” she said.

Alex Killam Alex Killam isn’t waiting for his upcoming senior year at college to begin to figure out the direction for his career once he graduates.

This summer, the 20-year-old electronic engineering major at Norfolk State University interned at Chrysler in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

He’s working with the company’s vehicle integration team, testing the 2015 police Dodge Charger primarily, as well as the 2015 police Ram and 2015 police Dodge Durango. “My main responsibility is to prepare the upcoming police units for the police catalog test done by the Michigan State Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department,” said Killam. “These tasks involve diagnosing and fixing any electrical issues with the car as well as performance issues.”

After receiving a Black Engineer of the Year athletic award and attending the conference’s career fair, Killam met with www.blackengineer.com

Chrysler representatives at the fair. He obviously made a positive impression. “I was blessed to receive two internship offers from Chrysler in engineering and manufacturing,” he said. “I accepted the engineering internship shortly thereafter.”

Killam has high expectations of his internship — learning about the company’s working environment, networking and soaking up as much as he can about the automotive industry and how electronic engineering relates.

However the Newport News, Virginia, native admits he’s not completely sure of his future career field.

“I feel as I am still learning so much now that I want to see how I can apply it. I am interested in so many different types of careers it is hard to make a decision now. The only thing that I do know is that I really want to make a difference wherever I go. I want to apply all the knowledge and drive that I contain to help innovate and create a positive impact,” he said.

Joi Carter Joe Carter could have done many different things this past summer. However, she chose to give back.

When Carter was a freshman at North Carolina A&T State University, she was mentored through the school’s Helping Orient Minorities to Engineering (HOME) program. She described the experience as eye-opening and promised herself to one day do the same for others. That day came this summer when Carter put off starting a full-time job to work at North Carolina A&T as a lead mentor in the program.

The goal of the program is to help orient minorities to engineering and foster their personal, professional and academic development. Carter, recipient of a 2014 Black Engineer of the Year leadership award, explained that the five-week program is offered to the top 10 percent of incoming freshman engineers at North Carolina A&T and is designed to facilitate their transition from high school to college.

“The people and activities in this program severely impacted my successful matriculation through A&T,” said Carter, adding that she wanted to be of service to the incoming students. HOME also afforded her “the opportunity to experience a multitude of things while at A&T that I never dreamed of before coming to college.”

Now that summer’s over, the 22-year-old computer science major who graduated in May is rolling up her sleeves for a new chapter in her life — working for Northrop Grumman in Linthicum, Maryland, in the professional development program.

She also plans to pursue a master’s degree in computer science as well as create programs to introduce young people to the STEM field.

Nijel Rogers Learning about leadership has been at the heart of Nijel Rogers summer experience.

The 21-year-old who will be a senior this fall at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point is majoring in chemical engineering, and spent three weeks at Fort Drum, New York, shadowing a military officer in the aviation unit. He also had the opportunity to work not only work with multiple types of helicopters and aircraft technology but also to test his leadership skills by subbing in as a temporary platoon leader and leading a group of www.blackengineer.com

10 soldiers through their daily objective.

He also attended the 100 Black Men of America National Conference held in Fort Lauderdale.

He represented West Point and talked to high school and college students about the opportunities at the military academy as well as how the 100 Black Men of Atlanta program helped him develop into the leader he is today.

And for six weeks, he and eight other cadets were the primary leaders of West Point’s mandated cadet field training.

“My mentors pushed me to strive for leadership positions that, while requiring more work than some jobs, best prepare me for service as an officer in the United States Army,” said Rogers, who credits his mentors and the academy for the opportunities. “I enjoy the fact my summer is packed because the benefits of what I gain from my work far outweigh the desire for simply having an easy summer.”

The native of Atlanta, who was recognized with a Black Engineer of the Year military leadership award in 2014, said he hopes that through his summer experiences he learns about his leadership weaknesses and develops into a more efficient leader.

Rogers is quite enthusiastic about his becoming a commissioned officer, serving in the military and continuing to study chemical engineering.

Vladimir Moricette Doing research may not be some people’s idea of a great way to spend one’s summer, but Vladimir Moricette isn’t one of those people.

The 22-yearchemistry major at Kennesaw State University conducted research under the direction of John Salerno, Ph.D., professor of biotechnology at KSU. He worked on the function of control elements in nitric oxide signaling.

The senior is optimistic he’ll be able to get his research published.

Moricette, who was born in New York but reared in Haiti until he was 18, is also working to get into pharmacy school with the goal of being a pharmacist.

He was awarded a Black Engineer of the Year community award in 2014.

USBE&IT I FALL 2014 23

Chrysler’s Intern Immersion on May 29. The day gives interns an opportunity to learn about the company, network with other interns and participate in team-building activities.

INTERNSHIPS MUTUALLY BENEFIT STUDENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS

C

reating win-win situations for promising STEM careerists and organizations that rely on those careers are some of the reasons for investing in summer intern-

ships.

Jenny Tieu, education office program coordinator with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, said her organization supports internships because they provide students with invaluable experience to train alongside worldrenowned scientists and engineers, with the goal of motivating and inspiring students to complete their STEM degrees and pursue related careers.

“We are providing a great opportunity and view this as a win-win: students work alongside scientists and engineers, at the same time, the lab attracts students who are passionate and talented about space exploration. We really are excited to inspire new generations to come into the STEM field,” Tieu said.

JPL is a federally funded research and development facility managed by the California Institute of Technology for the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA). The tools JPL has developed for space exploration also have proved invaluable in providing new insights and discoveries in studies of Earth, its atmosphere, climate, oceans, geology and the biosphere.

JPL, which has had internship programs for more than 30 years, hires more than 600 students for 10-week paid internships during the summer and about 800 internships throughout

24 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

the year.

Tieu said her organization’s internships provide research experience in the various areas and opportunities include designing, developing and testing robotic-related missions.

Benefits to the laboratory include the enthusiasm the students bring as well as their contributions to the lab’s research.

Student interns are co-authors on 10 percent of all JPL peerreviewed publications.

For many interns, there’s an added benefit — employment.

Tieu said JPL hires about 12 percent of graduates who are eligible for employment and other NASA Centers hire another 7 percent of eligible interns.

For those interns fortunate enough to be hired by JPL following completion of their education, Tieu said they start with a base of experience, network of connections and familiarity with the JPL campus and culture. She said all these elements are the foundation of a successful career.

Intern satisfaction with the program is high with 99 percent reporting via surveys that they would recommend the program to others, said Tieu.

She added that in addition to a grade point average of 3.0 or higher, strong computer skills and the pursuit of a STEM degree, JPL seeks prospective interns who have a willingness to learn and excel and have a passion for space exploration.

Additionally, students that show initiative and are involved in extracurricular activities are prime recruits. For the students

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who are close to graduating, the organization also looks for prospects with research knowledge.

For its summer 2014 internship program, Chrysler recruited 502 students from 127 universities — the most in the program’s 19-year history. The interns worked across all company operations and locations.

“We think it’s imperative to provide these young people with internship opportunities; it gives Chrysler Group the opportunity to find and harvest young talent,” said Alex Shesterkin, communications manager at Chrysler. “It’s almost comparable to a long interview, in the sense that it allows Chrysler to take a look at the skills and ideas the interns can offer, ultimately preparing them for what could possibly lead to full-time employment. Moreover, it gives the interns an opportunity to find out what it’s like to work in the industry, collaborate as a team and get a sense of what they like or don’t like.”

Interns are hired in almost every department from engineering to marketing, and an official said they are usually assigned specific projects and given “a great deal of responsibility.”

Since 2009, Chrysler has hired 199 students from its intern program. In the 2013 intern class, 235 students graduated from college, half received Chrysler job offers and 83 accepted them.

“We hope they get a valuable work experience that gives them the opportunity to learn about themselves, their skillset and what it’s like to work in Chrysler Group’s culture,” said Shesterkin. “We also hope it gives the out-of-state interns a feel of what it’s like to work in Michigan and the benefits of living in this part of the country.”

She added that the benefits to the automaker are “endless” with the interns bringing a fresh perspective.

“Interns can see the company through a new lens that enables them to contribute innovative ideas and propose unique solutions to problems or issues. Interns also bring a great energy to Chrysler Group’s culture,” Shesterkin said.

“From an employee’s perspective, it gives you a renewed appreciation for the culture when you can see that your company is open to embracing their internship program and taking each intern’s views or ideas very seriously.”

Chrysler’s Intern Immersion Day on May 29.

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USBE&IT I FALL 2014 25

HOW TO FIND THE

PERFECT

INTERNSHIP CORPORATIONS SEEKING TO FILL TALENT PIPELINES

by M.V. Greene mgreene@ccgmag.com

A

college student scouring the landscape for a good internship to get into after graduation shouldn’t be put off by a seeming barrage of bad news about an up-and-down economy, corporate belt-tightening, or unexpected layoffs.

Top STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) students are in hot demand by corporations, so that perfect internship is out there for the taking. And those who design corporate internship programs are doing their utmost to bring that perfect candidate into their organizations because in an increasingly interconnected world where doing business globally is now the norm, interns are a critical part of the human resources talent pool that sustains and grows companies.

Texas Instruments Inc. (TI), the Dallas-based semiconductor design and manufacturing company, is an example of a corporation that puts great stock in interns. Operating in 35 countries, TI produces analog and embedded processing products and software and tools for customers, offering solutions for the transportation, industrial, communication, computing and consumer industries. In recruiting interns, TI seeks candidates to share in and build on its corporate successes.

“TI offers a high-touch internship program that encourages students to contribute and be an essential part of the team and their projects. Our internships place students in design, applications, technical sales, software, product test, quality and manufacturing engineering roles, as well as business support roles in communications, finance, information technology, and human resources,” said Shannon Freeze-Flory, TI’s worldwide recruiting leader.

Corporations are seeking internship candidates who can walk in the door and contribute, rather than simply serve as cheap labor in support of full-time employees, said Miguel A. Corona, founder of AdMentis Latino Talent Solutions, a com26 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

pany that offers recruitment, higher education, strategic planning and business development services focusing on Latinos. “They want students to be challenged and add value during their time with the organization,” said Corona, a former career advisor at the University of Texas at El Paso, one of the nation’s largest Hispanic-serving institutions.

CareerArc Group LLC of Burbank, Calif., which operates the website Internships.com, noted in a January 2014 survey that 56 percent of U.S. companies queried said they planned to hire more interns in 2014 compared to 2013. Data shows a “continued growth and maturing of the internships market,” according to the survey of 1,800 students and recent graduates and more than 440 human resources and recruitment professionals.

Corona said corporations are taking great care in how they structure internships to be most beneficial to the candidate as well as the corporation. Organizations understand that they have to build talent pipelines for the long term as a means not only for talented gaining workers but also strengthening and broadening the company’s relationships with its customers, he said.

The CareerArc Group’s survey reported additionally that 62 percent of the companies responding said they were implementing more structured internship programs to attract candidates.

“Organizations, particularly human resources functions, are becoming more nimble and adaptive,” Corona said. “Organizations realize that the competition for good talent coming out of college is fierce. Those organizations that are able to provide a quality internship experience will separate themselves from others.” www.blackengineer.com

Ditto for General Dynamics Advanced Information Sysdevise programs include strong leadership, communication and tems―where “busy-work” interns are persona non grata. critical thinking skills. Patrick B. Rickard, manager of recruiting “Our interns work on real programs, alongside full-time Norfolk Southern Corp. in Norfolk, Va., said interns should be employees and are integral members of the project team,” said leaders on their campuses. The railroad transportation and shipCynthia Vincent, leader of the enterprise employment and orgaping company was hiring about 275 interns and co-op program nizational development group at General Dynamics Advanced students in 2014 covering business majors and largely civil, Information Systems in Fairfax, Virginia, the information techelectrical, mechanical and industrial engineers. nology business group of defense contractor General Dynamics “What we do look for is a robust resume. We look for what Corp. they have done in regard to how long they’ve been in school,” One way General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems Rickard said. integrates its intern corps into the culture of the organization “We really look for leaders because a lot of the people we is through participation of are going to hire are going weekly brown-bag seminars to be operations leaders. on technical topics, work We need people who have tools and company programs, demonstrated that they want according to Vincent. “As our to and like to lead,” Rickard • Get involved in engineering or professional organizations on camultimate goal is to hire each added. pus and serve in leadership positions in these organizations; intern as a full-time employee Patricia Mota, senior upon graduation, they are not director of Strategic Initia• Leverage networking opportunities with peers and mentors; doing busy work or low-level tives of the Hispanic Alliance • Build a strong resume with a solid grade point average with tasks,” Vincent said. for Career Enhancement relevant project experience and coursework.

While students seek the (HACE), a Chicago-based perfect internship, companies organization that seeks to • Prepare for internship interviews by researching the company and role for which you are applying; also want to bring the perfect address the underrepresentaintern on board. The perfect tion of Hispanic workers in • Come to the interview prepared to ask questions about the job intern “is one who excels the private- and public-sector and the company and convey a genuine interest in the position. academically, socially and workplaces, said internship • Expand internship opportunities to include not only large corpopractically, and, most imporcandidates also must show rations, but also medium and small organizations. tantly, is passionate about corporations that they are • Be adaptable and be willing to learn, especially in today’s corour mission of transforming competent and a fit for the porate team environments. the way our customers think organization. about and achieve the secu“Corporations will look • Get involved with outside organizations like the Hispanic Allirity of our nation,” Vincent for a student to exude exciteance for Career Enhancement, INROADS, Genesys Works and said. ment for the internship, but the Minority Access Internship Program as these organizations Freeze-Flory said Texas also be able to demonstrate help place interns within corporations and provide networking opportunities.

Instruments seeks internship how he or she has been able candidates who are resultsto accomplish key skills,” • Continue to communicate with the company after the internoriented, have an open mind Mota said. ship ends. and exhibit initiative and Corona said it is imcreativity. “TI is a company portant also for students in committed to innovation, so STEM fields not to limit their we look for students who are search for internships to large curious, proactive, and willing to learn from every situation,” corporations only.

Freeze-Flory said.

“There are many medium to small organizations, especially Corona of AdMentis Latino Talent Solutions said seeking an in the STEM fields, that are doing remarkable work. These types internship must be more than a willy-nilly adventure designed to of organizations provide a lot of benefits such as more responsienhance a resume. It should be an exercise where the candidate bility, flexibility and opportunities,” Corona said. is focused on what he or she expects to achieve. Once students Rickard of Norfolk Southern said a successful internship is know how they want to proceed with their careers, it will help a two-way street, with both the intern and the company profiting them to narrow the focus of their internship search. from the experience.

“Students need to know exactly where their interests lie. By “We look at every intern as a potential full-time employee this I mean many students just want to get an internship to put in the long run. We do our best to give them a robust experience something on a resume without really considering exactly what so we can evaluate their performance and their aptitude. At the they want to do in a career in the long term. That’s a first major same time, it is an opportunity for the student to evaluate us to piece that they should address,” Corona said. determine if it is the kind of place they want to work,” Rickard Key attributes for internship candidates cited by those who said.

TIPS FOR INTERNSHIP CANDIDATES

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USBE&IT I FALL 2014 27

10 EASY TIPS

FOR COLLEGE SUCCESS DESPITE OBSTACLES, COLLEGE SUCCESS CAN HAPPEN!

by M.V. Greene mgreene@ccgmag.com

F

or minority students intent on succeeding through college as undergraduates and graduate students, no shortage of tips for achievement abound. Colleges and universities, organizations, professors, advocates, public officials, websites and bloggers and others all weigh in with advice for attaining success.

Low graduation rates among minority college students have been a cause of grave concern in recent years for educational institutions, academics, student advocates and policy makers.

For minority students, many of them who start college simply aren’t finishing.

Two of the minority groups who aren’t completing college in big numbers are Hispanics and African Americans.

Among the Hispanic population, a May 2013 Pew Research Center analysis found that while 69 percent of Hispanic high school graduates in the class of 2012 enrolled in college that fall, young Hispanic college students are less likely than whites to complete a bachelor’s degree. The Pew analysis, citing data from the U.S. census, revealed that 11 percent of Hispanics ages 22 to 24 years old finished a four-year degree in March 2012 compared to 22 percent of young whites.

Among African Americans, a similar situation exists. In addressing the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Conference about college readiness and success in September 2010, then deputy secretary of education Tony Miller noted that only about a third of all African Americans who start college get their bachelor’s degree.

“African Americans are more likely than any major ethnic group in the United States to have some college experience, but no degree,” Miller said.

A February 2014 report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy showed that the six-year graduation rate for bachelor’s degree-seeking students is 38 percent at four-year Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) compared to 61 percent at non-MSIs. The report includes HBCUs, Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Tribal Colleges and Universities under the MSIs umbrella, enrolling some 3.5 million students of color.

Hilary Pennington, director, U.S. Program Special Initiatives for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, summed up the reality of lagging graduation rates for minorities in a speech as far back as a few years ago to the American Council on Education. “The entering class at most colleges today looks like America,” Pennington said.

“But the graduating class does not. The students who walk across the stage are overwhelmingly white.”

For minority students intent on succeeding through college 28 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

as undergraduates and graduate students, no shortage of tips for achievement abound. Colleges and universities, organizations, professors, advocates, public officials, websites and bloggers and others all weigh in with advice for attaining success. And while mastering the ABCs is paramount, observers say it is just as important to college success for students to have a well-rounded college experience to include campus events, organizations and social activities.

In searching for practical advice about college achievement, the website campusexplorer.com is a good place to start.

In a section titled “Your College Search,” links to a plethora of articles will get you on your way--such as “The Impact of Diversity on Campus,” “How to Choose a College Major,” “8 College Resources for Minority Students,” and “The Pros and Cons of Using College Rankings.”

The site literally contains links to hundreds of articles. The article on choosing a college major, for instance, says this: “First and foremost, a college major should be chosen based on your interests and career goals. However, it is not uncommon for students to select their majors based on the careers of parents or siblings. If following in their career path is not right for the student, then it will likely lead to an unfulfilling education and career.”

With many minority students characterized as first generation and low-income students, acquiring financial resources for college are deemed critical to success. The Lumina Foundation, a private foundation based in Indianapolis that seeks to increase the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to 60 percent by 2025, has funded a series of policy papers that explore new models of student financial support. While these papers do not necessarily go into the nuts-and-bolts of applying for aid, they serve to put a spotlight the college-funding landscape.

In one April 2014 report, “College Costs: Students Can’t Afford Not to Know,” the authors note that the costs of attending college have risen and continue to rise quickly. The report suggests that students and their families who receive financial aid via grants, loans and other forms need to have an understanding of the costs.

As for specific financial aid tips, the Peterson’s website, www.blackengineer.com

which provides educational content and is part of the Nelnet Inc. organization that services student loans, offers advice to parents and students to help get through the maze of educational funding.

Among them: • Get an early idea of your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) during the student’s junior year in high school.

• Make financial aid a part of your campus visits and ask to speak with someone in the student financial aid office.

• Pay attention to deadlines and to assist with financial aid for college forms, file your taxes as early in the year as possible.

• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) even if you think you won’t qualify.

• Make your college aware of special circumstances, such as a job loss, since completing the FAFSA. As noted, success in college shouldn’t be confined to the classroom.

Psychotherapist and author Stephanie Sarkis, a contributor to The Huffington Post, put together 50 tips for succeeding in college. Many are in the “miscellaneous” category that Sarkis said she learned as a college student and professor. Here are 10 of them: 1. If it’s either take out a loan or quit school, take out a loan.

The more time you take off from college, the lower the chances are of you returning to it.

2. Always attend the “real” class, and use the Internet one for review.

3. If you are not a morning person, don’t schedule classes for 7 a.m.

4. Get involved on campus. All work and no “productive” socializing are boring.

5. Sit near the front of class.

6. Recopy your notes after class. Or if you’ve typed them (which is recommended), do a quick readthrough after class.

7. See how your first semester goes before you consider getting a job.

See how heavy your course load is first.

8. Find a bank that also has branches in your hometown. Get your account connected to your parents’ account so they can transfer money to you.

9. Use virus protection and firewalls on your laptop.

10. Reconsider bringing a car to campus your first semester. It can be a pain to park.

For those students aspiring to attend or attending graduate school, www.blackengineer.com

USBE&IT I FALL 2014 29

Marybeth Gasman, an associate professor of higher education at the University of Pennsylvania, offers tips through her blog column in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Gasman, an expert on Minority Serving Institutions, offers the following: • Keep an open mind. Make your experience your own experience and enjoy it.

• Get to know the faculty members in your program. Make appointments with them a few months into the semester.

• Ask faculty members if you can help them conduct research and write articles.

• Most universities have many different cultural events, speakers, and organizational activities. Frequent these. The relationships that you establish across disciplines can be wonderfully beneficial and long lasting.

• Get in the habit of writing every day. There is a great deal of research that shows that if you write every day, you will be a better writer, a more productive writer, and that writing will come more easily to you.

• Stay focused on ideas and not academic politics.

• Make sure that you give as much as you get. Find something about which you feel immense passion and give as much as you can to whatever it is.

Need more tips for success? Try these from Northwood University, a unique institution based in Michigan and other states whose purpose is focused on developing leaders, manag30 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

ers, and entrepreneurs: • Take advantage of international learning opportunities.

• Organization is key to academic success. (Prepare for classes and extracurricular assignments well in advance.)

• Schedule courses early and wisely. (Do not leave the difficult courses until the end or wait until the last minute to register for classes.)

• Read the syllabus before the first day of class. (You will know what to expect and you will also learn what expectations your faculty members have.)

For students not yet in college, the African-American Collegiate Scholarship Fund Inc., a Florida-based non-profit organization established in 2001, says in a posting of tips from its website that it is never too early to set the stage for college success.

One tip: Visit as many colleges as possible, ask lots of questions, spend as much time as possible at each institution, and, if possible, have your family accompany you. Your family knows you better than anyone else, thus their observations and opinions may prove very helpful to you (even if you agree on nothing else).

“Winning means winding up at a college or university in which you’ll be both happy and successful,” according to the African-American Collegiate Scholarship Fund.

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BEYA Student Winners Military Leadership Award Cadet Jamonte R. Little United States Military Academy ‘14

Athletic Award Alex Killam Norfolk State University ‘15

Leadership Award LaKeeVia Jackson Morgan State University ’14

Academic Award Deborah Adedeji Kennesaw State University ‘14

Military Leadership Award Cadet Nijel J. Rogers United States Military Academy ‘15

Community Service Award Vladimir Moricette Kennesaw State University’14

Leadership Award Michael Alemayehu Georgia Institute of Technology ‘15

Research Award Ciara Lynton Morgan State University ‘16

Military Leadership Award OT Calvin Harris III United States Coast Guard, Savannah State University ‘15

Community Service Award Roscoe A. Johnson, IV Morgan State University’14

Academic Award Whitney Wilson University of Maryland, College Park ‘15

Research Award Ezigbobiara N. Umejiego Kennesaw State University ‘14

Athletic Award Joshua Gopeesingh Hampton University’14

Leadership Award Joi Carter North Carolina A&T ’14

Academic Award Destenie Nock North Carolina A&T State University ‘14

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USBE&IT I FALL 2014 31

Make a power move.

If you’re looking for a career move that can make a real difference, consider Southern Company. Think about the fact that Southern Company is on the leading edge of researching and developing innovative ways to provide customers with clean, safe, reliable, affordable energy. Think about joining a company that values a culture of diversity and teamwork, where you have the opportunity to grow and develop professionally. Think about Southern Company, where Energy, Innovation and Opportunity meet.

www.southerncompany.com/careers

© 2014 Southern Company

Alabama Power • Georgia Power • Gulf Power • Mississippi Power • Southern Company Generation Southern Company Services • Southern Company Transmission • Southern Nuclear Southern Power • Southern Telecom • SouthernLINC Wireless

Spotlight on

Women and Minorities in Energy

INSIDE  INDUSTRY OVERVIEW  LANDING A JOB IN ENERGY  ENERGY STEM SUPERSTARS TO WATCH

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USBE&IT I FALL 2014 33

CAREER OUTLOOK

Industry Overview HOW DO EMPLOYERS REACH YOU?

by Dr. Tyrone Taborn publisher@ccgmag.com

O

ne of the brightest spots on the job horizon is the energy sector, but less than 1.5 percent of African Americans in four-year colleges are getting degrees associated with the energy industry. While employment for minorities suffered during the economic downturn, job opportunities have been rapidly growing in all areas in energy. Unfortunately, they have failed to maximize on the opportunities.

What has accounted for the uptick in the energy industry is that the United States is a leader in production and supply, and one of the world’s largest energy consumers. The energy industry is the third largest in the United States. U.S. energy companies produce oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear power, renewable energy and fuels, as well as electricity, smart grid, and demand response technologies.

Growing consumer demand and world class innovation — combined with a competitive workforce and supply chain capable of building, installing, and servicing energy technologies — make the United States the world’s most attractive market in the $6 trillion global energy market.

Industry Subsectors Renewable Energy: The United States is home to a thriving renewable energy industry, with globally competitive firms in all subsectors, including the wind, solar, geothermal, hydropower, biomass, and biofuels sectors. Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) expects that by 2030 the share of renewables in the U.S. power generation mix to reach 27 percent.

In fact, by then, the United States is projected to have 343 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity — an increase of 420 percent from 2010 totals. To achieve these gains, BNEF projects that just under $700 billion will be invested in the U.S. renewable energy sector during the next two decades with investment opportunities cascading across the industry’s deep and multi-faceted supply chain.

Today, the United States produces more geothermal energy than any other country (3,187 megawatt (MW); more biomass power than any other country (16,250 MW); enjoys the second34 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

largest wind industry (60,078 MW); third-largest hydropower industry (100,000 MW); and the fifth-largest solar industry (9,370 MW).

Renewable Fuels: With access to abundant natural resources, the industrial wood pellet and ethanol industries are also increasing capacity — particularly to serve overseas markets.

According to the U.S. Industrial Pellet Association, the United States helps meet the world’s demand for renewable, carbon beneficial wood pellets through a strong and growing forestscape that is protected by rigorous federal and state laws, contractual obligations, independent sustainability certifications and third party audits.

U.S. wood pellet manufacturers can now produce more than 16 billion metric tons of pellets annually.

Much of the production has been added in recent years to export to Europe. In 2012, nearly 1.9 million metric tons were exported, and in 2013 exporters were on track to exceed the previous year’s levels.

America’s ethanol industry is the largest and most efficient in the world, incorporating technological innovations to produce over 13 billion gallons of ethanol annually. In addition, the industry is expanding to new markets. During 2012, the U.S. ethanol industry exported an estimated 700-750 million gallons of ethanol — around 6 percent of its total production — to marwww.blackengineer.com

kets around the world. Investment opportunities also exist for the development of advanced biofuels utilizing new technologies and feedstock, particularly in the aviation sector.

Oil and Gas: The United States is undergoing a revolution in oil and natural gas production. American companies have developed techniques for extracting hydrocarbons from shale, altering the U.S. oil and gas sector and domestic energy landscape.

Increased oil and gas production from North Dakota’s Bakken shale and the Marcellus shale in the northeastern region of the United States among other shale plays have been the source of increased onshore oil and gas production.

In addition to shale, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Alaska are once again the focus for new investment. The U.S. Department of Interior has released a five-year leasing program for highresource areas under the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing: 2012-2017 Program. In light of these developments, the International Energy Agency recently projected the United States will surpass Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world’s top oil producer by 2015, and be close to energy self-sufficiency in the next two decades, amid booming output from shale formations.

Coal: The United States holds the world’s largest estimated recoverable reserves of coal and is a net exporter of coal. Approximately 72 percent of coal production originated in five states: Wyoming, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Coal is used to generate 42 percent of the electricity in the United States, and is also used for industrial applications such as cement making, and conversion to coke for the smelting of iron ore at blast furnaces to make steel. The United States is also developing carbon capture and sequestration technologies with the goal of capturing 90 percent of CO2 emissions from coal.

Nuclear Energy: The United States operates the most nuclear reactors, has the largest installed nuclear power capacity, and generates the most nuclear power in the world. Nearly 20 percent of U.S. electricity is produced at 100 nuclear reactors in 31 states. By 2015, the first of 24 new nuclear reactors are expected to come on line.

Subsectors of the civil nuclear industry are represented by companies that produce nuclear components (reactors, nuclear monitoring instruments, boilers, heat exchangers, industrial valves, instrument modules, insula-

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tion, economizers for boilers, pumps and other reactor parts), nuclear fuel (uranium mining, conversion, enrichment, fuel assembly fabrication, and spent fuel storage), nuclear engineering and construction (site preparation, materials and equipment procurement, and construction), and nuclear advisory services (consulting on nuclear-related regulatory policies, human resources, and infrastructure; legal services; and operations and program management services).

According to Oil Price, the U.S. Department of Commerce estimates the international marketplace for civil nuclear technology at $500 to $740 billion over the next 10 years, with the potential to generate more than $100 billion in U.S. exports and thousands of new jobs. The international civil nuclear marketplace is estimated at more than $500-740 billion during the next decade and has the potential to generate more than $100 billion in U.S. exports and thousands of new skilled and unskilled jobs.

Energy Efficiency: The market for achieving greater energy efficiency in the United States is large and growing. Combined financing and investment in building, industrial, and supply side energy efficiency doubled in 2012, exceeding $15 billion in funds.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), which collects, analyzes, and disseminates energy information to promote policy, markets, and public understanding of energy and its interaction with the economy and the environment, says federal appliance standards, along with other federal and state policies, and market forces are drivers of energy efficiency in the United States.

In August 2012, President Obama signed an executive order supporting industrial energy efficiency and combined heat and power. The executive order is expected to encourage industrial facilities to modernize their domestic manufacturing capacity, and contribute to significant energy cost savings by as much as $100 billion.

Smart Grid: The United States is an international leader in the development and deployment of smart grid technologies and services. The smart grid subsector is defined by the electric grid equipment and services required for the modernization of distribution and transmission systems, as well as the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) that support a fully networked grid and enable two-way communications and electric flows.

USBE&IT I FALL 2014 35

CAREER OUTLOOK

Since 2009, investment in modernization of America’s electricity infrastructure has increased dramatically, in large part due to the nearly $8 billion in 99 public-private Smart Grid Invest-

36 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

ment Grant (SGIG) projects involving more than 200 utilities.

These projects have helped push the deployment of smart meters to approximately 37 percent of the country’s 144.51 million electricity consumers.

In addition to public-private programs like the SGIG, America’s shareholder-owned utilities are projected to spend $54.6 billion on transmission infrastructure from 2012 to 2015, a 32-percent increase over the previous four-year period. Overall grid modernization investments are projected to achieve $130 billion in annual benefits for the U.S. economy by 2019, and the smart grid deployment by utilities in the United States is expected to create $15 billion to $31 billion annually by 2014 in potential sales for the ICT industry.

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CAREER OUTLOOK

Job Horizon

OPPORTUNITIES COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE

by Dr. Tyrone Taborn publisher@ccgmag.com

T

he United States is the world’s leading producer of natural gas, and the nation has a nearly 100-year supply of it. President Barack Obama has directed his administration to safely develop this gas, called shale gas, in a way that will create up to 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade, according to independent experts. The president also called for new rules requiring companies to disclose the chemicals they use when accessing and removing shale gas on public lands to make sure public health is protected.

Increasing diverse participation in the energy sector is a major challenge for the energy sector.

Currently minorities continue to lag in almost all significant areas. The potential for African-American success in the energy sector is huge, according to the American Petroleum Institute. In a recently released report, the organization says by 2020, it projects that 500,000 jobs will be created in the upstream oil and natural gas sector alone.

With the constant discovery of new energy, drilling resources and technology, and a push for the United States to become energy independent by 2030, the demand is high for more workers in the industry.

“Shale gas and oil and unconventional resources are a big part of why that’s going to happen,” said Talia Buford, an energy reporter for Politico Pro, who moderated a discussion on shale.

A newer energy discovery, shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock formed by consolidated clay or mud. According to the United States Chamber, by 2020, shale energy “could support three million American jobs and $417 billion in economic growth.”

“Job security ranks No. 1 in driving employment decisions for African Americans and Latinos,” said Rayola Dougher, senior economist at the American Petroleum Institute. “Between 2010 and 2020, about one third of the jobs in the oil industry would go to Hispanics and African-Americans.”

Her company’s report says that because the industry represents longevity, financial stability and produces products that are viewed as necessities, these are key drivers to the sector, “even more so than salary considerations.”

The energy sector provides opportunities to branch off into several different paths, Dougher said, including corporate, construction, drilling, chemical, steel, hospitality and trucking. www.blackengineer.com

Carlos Rodriguez of the American Institute for Research noted that because of such high demand, many entry-level job salaries start at $60,000; $70,000; or $80,000, possible for a high school graduate.

Industry insiders say that introducing kids to different careers in primary schools and educating communities about the industry in general plays a huge part in making sure African Americans know about the variety of jobs available in the energy sector.

“There’s no substitute for ambassadors for the industry,” said Frank Stewart, former president of the American Association of Blacks in Energy and current managing partner of FM Stewart Consulting.

USBE&IT I FALL 2014 37

CAREER OUTLOOK

How Do I Land a Job in Energy?

T

ANSWER: CONTACT THE ORGANIZATIONS BELOW THAT NEED YOUR SKILLS

by Frank McCoy fmccoy@ccgmag.com

hese private and public companies plus the U.S. Department of Energy, seek STEM students and recent graduates like yourselves to replace retiring Baby Boomers, and to use your vitality, creativity, and 21st Century savvy to transform the booming Energy sector.

Look below to find out the who, what, where, and how of each organization and explore their career, internship, co-op, recruiting, and job posting pages.

Alliant Energy Corporation

4902 North Biltmore Lane, Suite 1000 Madison, WI 53718 202-347-8132 Alliant Energy Corporation (AEP), publicly-traded on the New York Stock Exchange, provides electric and natural gas services to customers and communities in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

38 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

To learn more about a career at Alliant Energy go to: http://www.alliantenergy. com/Careers/InternshipProgram/. The utility has an internship program and advises all interested to create a job agent on Alliant Energy’s Career page. The AEP website reports that Patricia L. Kampling, Chairman, President and CEO of Alliant Energy, is committed to diversity in hiring and in supplier contracting.

American Electric Power 1 Riverside Plaza Columbus, OH, USA 43215-2372 614-716-1000

American Electric Power (AEP), serves more than 5 million customers in 11 states, is one of the largest electric utilities, and has the nation’s largest network

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— more than 40,000-miles of electricity transmission. Interested in a career at AEP go to: https://www.aep.com/careers/.

Check out the company’s diversity policy: https://www.aep.com/careers/diversity, and read about its paying internships as well: https://www.aep.com/careers/collegerelations/, and particularly the Frequently asked questions: https://www.aep.com/ careers/collegerelations/faqs.aspx.

American Petroleum Institute (API) 1220 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20005-4070 Phone 202-682-8000

The American Petroleum Institute, a national trade association represents every facet of the oil and natural gas industry.

Those sectors comprise 8 percent of the U.S. economy and employ which more than 9.8 million people.

Anadarko Petroleum Company

Corporate Office - Allison Tower 1201 Lake Robbins Drive The Woodlands, Texas 77380 832-636-1000 Recreated LOGO

The Anadarko Petroleum Company, with at least 2.79 billion barrels of oil equivalent of proved reserves at yearend 2013, is ranked as one of the world’s largest independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. To review Anadarko Petroleum job and career opportunities go to http://www.anadarko. com/careers/pages/overview.aspx.

Anadarko looks for interns and potential hires on college campuses each fall in areas including Accounting, Engineering, Environment, Health & Safety, Geosciences, and Information Technology.

Apache Corporation

2000 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 100 Houston, Texas 77056-4400 713-296-6000 The Apache Corporation, founded in www.blackengineer.com

1954, is one of the world’s top independent Exploration & Production companies in the oil and gas industry. In 2011, Apache became an early leader in posting the composition of its frac fluids at FracFocus.org, a joint venture of the Ground Water Protection Council and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission.”

Apache was one of the early proponents of transparency in hydraulic fracturing operations when it posted the composition of its frac fluids at FracFocus.org. Internships are available in areas including Engineering, Geologic Engineering, Drilling, and Geosciences http://www.apachecorp.com/ Careers/United_States/College_recruiting/ Interns/index.aspx. Go here, http://www. apachecorp.com/Careers/United_States/ College_recruiting/index.aspx, for the campus recruiting schedule.

Baker Hughes Incorporated Global Headquarters 2929 Allen Parkway, Suite 2100 Houston, Texas 77019-2118 713-439-8600

Baker Hughes is an oilfield company that provides application-specific products and services to oil and gas operators with petroleum reservoirs. Baker Hughes has more than 60,000 employees in over 80 countries. STEM grads should go to http:// public.bakerhughes.com/graduate/graduate-program for information about Field Engineering, Supply Chain, Technology, and Commercial opportunities. Undergrads, studying engineering or engineering-related subjects, geology or geosciences, chemistry, physics, mathematics, supply chain or logistics, and business majors that are seeking internships should visit http://public.bakerhughes.com/graduate/internship-program. Also check out the Baker Hughes Opportunities in the Oil and Gas Industry Brochure: http://public. bakerhughes.com/graduate/brochures/ BH_INTERNScard_2013.pdf .

BithEnergy Inc.

113 West Monument Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201 410-962-1188 x35 E-mail: info@bithenergy.com BITHENERGY, Inc. is a Baltimorebased energy engineering and technical services consulting firm. Its clients include public, corporate, and residential clients, and BithEnergy has service expertise in energy consumption, smart grid infrastructure construction, and developing renewable energy systems. BithEnergy Founder Robert L. Wallace also founded BITHGROUP Technologies, Inc., and EntreTeach Learning Systems, LLC. BithEnergy projects include design and installation of a 10 MW solar pv facility, and tracking and monitoring the energy usage of 15,000 utility accounts at 1,500 Maryland state agencies , and installation of electric vehicle charging stations at Under Armour.

BP

BP U.S. Communications 501 Westlake Park Blvd.

Houston, TX 77079 - 2604 281 366 2000 BP, a global producer of oil and gas, has about 84,000 worldwide employees.

BP’s two main operating areas are Upstream, which finds, develops, and produces sources energy and Downstream, which develops those sources into products that customers purchase. U.S. students and graduates should visit Careers: http:// www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/careers/ students-and-graduates/graduate-locations/ united-states-students-and-graduates.html where you can find out what BP does, apply for jobs, and track your application.

There is also link to upcoming events. To learn about internships and co-op opportunities in the areas of engineering, science, business and trading, go to: http:// www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/careers/ students-and-graduates/graduate-locations/ united-states-students-and-graduates/ interns.html. Also try out the BP degree USBE&IT I FALL 2014 39

CAREER OUTLOOK

matcher: http://www.bp.com/en/global/ corporate/careers/students-and-graduates/ graduate-locations/united-states-studentsand-graduates/degree-matcher.html

Chevron

6001 Bollinger Canyon Rd. San Ramon, CA 94583 925-842-1000

website: http://apps.coned.com/careers/ careers/jobs.asp. There is also information useful to students aspiring to be Co-Op Interns, http://apps.coned.com/careers/ careers/list.asp?category=CO-OP+Interns.

Students with a background, or major, in engineering, finance, and information technology, and skilled trades are always welcome.

Chevron is a leading global integrated energy company. Among other functions, it explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets, and distributes transportation fuels and lubricants; manufactures and sells petrochemical products; generates power and produces geothermal energy; and provides renewable energy and energy-efficiency solutions. Students and recent graduates will find information on campus visits, internships, and working at Chevron here: http://careers.chevron.com/students/default.aspx. Go to Chevrons’s undergraduate development programs, http://careers. chevron.com/students/undergraduate_programs/default.aspx, and its Downstream & Chemicals Engineering Development Programs: http://careers.chevron.com/ disciplines/index_of_disciplines/engineering_development_program/default.aspx, to see who Chevron hires, what you will do, and where you’ll work.

ConocoPhillips

Con Edison of New York

CPS Energy

Recruitment Section Manager 4 Irving Place, 15 Floor South New York, New York 10003 212-460-4600 RequestForAccomodation@coned.com Con Edison of New York provides electric service to about 3.3 million customers and gas service to about 1.1 million customers in New York City and Westchester County. ConEd list more than 50 different different job categories on its 40 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

600 North Dairy Ashford (77079-1175) P.O. Box 2197 Houston, TX 77252-2197 281-293-1000 ConocoPhillips is the world’s largest independent exploration and production company based upon production and proven reserves. ConocoPhillips earned $62 billion in revenue, has operations and activities in 27 countries, $120 billion in total assets, and about 18,800. Careers can be found on http://careers.conocophillips.com/en/ and university recruitment information at http://careers.conocophillips.com/en/university-recruitment. On the same page, there is information on University Job Search, University New Hire, the University Hiring Process, Scholarships, and an FAQ on campus visits and meeting ConocoPhillips University Recruiting Team.

145 Navarro St. San Antonio, TX 78205-2934 800-773-3077 CPS Energy is the nation’s largest municipally-owned energy utility to provide both natural gas and electric service.

CPS has more than 741,000 electric customers and 331,000 natural gas customers in and around the nation’s seventh-largest city in a 1,514-square-mile service area.

Learn about corporate careers, http://

www.cpsenergy.com/About_CPS_Energy/ Careers/, and search open positions http:// www.cpsenergy.com/About_CPS_Energy/ Careers/External/. CPS has a variety of intriguing internships, http://www.cpsenergy.com/About_CPS_Energy/Careers/ Internships.asp.

Dayton Power & Light DPL Inc. P.O. Box 1247 Dayton, Ohio 45401-1247 800-253-5801

Dayton Power & Light has more than 500,000 customers in 24 counties throughout Ohio’s Miami Valley, a service area of 6,000 square miles. With 10,552 miles of overhead wire and 3,447 of underground cable. Graduates and students should look for career information here: http://www. dpandl.com/about-dpl/careers/, and apply for work here: http://www.dplinc.com/ careers/. There often openings at Dayton Power & Light in the following areas: Engineering (http://engineers.getintoenergy.com/) and information on types of engineering, http://engineers.getintoenergy.com/types.php, informative videos: http://engineers.getintoenergy.com/videos. php,and a page of helpful resources on Engineer Societies and Energy associations: http://engineers.getintoenergy.com/ resources.php.

Devon Energy

Mid America Tower Oklahoma City, OK 73102 405-235-3611 Devon Energy is a leading independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. It is also a large North America processor of natural gas liquids with its own natural gas pipelines and treatment facilities in producing areas.

Devon produces about 2.3 billion cubic www.blackengineer.com

feet of natural gas daily, or three percent of North America’s gas consumption. In 2014, Devon was listed as a Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For. It has internships, in the United States and Canada, in areas including Energy Land Management, Engineering, Engineering Construction Management, and Information Technology. See: http://www.dvn.com/ Careers/Pages/Students.aspx.

Dominion Energy

1900 Timbermead Road Richmond VA 23238 804-819-2000

Dominion Energy is one of the nation’s largest energy producers and transporters with customers and facilities in 10 states. It controls about 23,600 megawatts of generation, 10,900 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline, and 6,400 miles of electric transmission lines. Dominion is also a major natural gas storage company with 947 billion cubic feet of storage capacity. Visit Dominion’s career page: https://www.dom.com/careers/index.jsp , Student Employment and Scholarships page: https://www.dom.com/careers/ student-employment-and-scholarships.jsp, and its internship program: https://www. dom.com/careers/intern-program.jsp. Take a look at the experience of previous interns and watch their, including a Howard University student: https://www.dom.com/ careers/student-employees-at-dominion.jsp.

Duke Energy

550 South Tryon Street Charlotte, NC 28202 980-373-8649 Duke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in the United States. It supplies and delivers energy to about 7.2 million U.S. customers. Duke www.blackengineer.com

Energy also has approximately 57,500 megawatts of electric generating capacity in the Carolinas, the Midwest and Florida, and natural gas distribution services in Ohio and Kentucky. The Fortune 250 company also owns and operates power generation assets in North America and Latin America, and has renewable energy assets. There are a panoply of career opportunities at Duke: http://www.dukeenergy.com/careers/default.asp. Consider joining its Talent Network for job search and company information: http://www. jobs.net/jobs/duke-energy/join.

Eaton Corporation 1000 Eaton Boulevard Cleveland, Ohio 44122 440-523-6700

Eaton Corporation specializes in making its electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power customers more energy efficient. The $22 billion company has about 101,000 employees and customers in more than 175 countries for its Electrical, Hydraulics, Aerospace, and Vehicle products. Learn about Eaton Corporation’s career opportunities, here:http://www.eaton.com/Eaton/Careers/index.htm. STEM students should search for job openings in Engineering, Environmental, Health & Safety which has two internships, Information Technology with two interships, and Manufacturing & Operations with one internship. Eaton’s paid Co-Op/Internships are generally 12 weeks in duration.

Entergy

Indian Point Energy Center Buchanan, NY 10511 914-736-8000 Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company mostly involved in electric power production and retail distribution operations. It owns and

operates power plants with about 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and also more than 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power. $11 billion Entergy 2.8 million electricity utility customers are in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Check out Entergy’s Career page, http://www.entergy.com/Careers/, and its Intern & Co-Op program titled Jumpstart: http://www.entergy.com/careers/internships.aspx.

Exelon Corporation

PO Box 805398 Chicago, IL 60680-5398 800.483.3220 Exelon, one of the biggest U.S. power generators, with about 35,000 megawatts of owned capacity, operates in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.

Exelon’s has 100,000 business and public sector customers and about 1 million residential customers. Exelon’s also delivers electricity and natural gas to more than 7.8 million customers in central Maryland (BGE), northern Illinois (ComEd) and southeastern Pennsylvania (PECO).

Students should take a look at Exelon’s programs for students, new graduate hires, and undergraduates. There are 17 colleges, including Morgan State University, where Exelon has “historically recruited professional interns”.

Gulf Power (A Southern Company)

P.O. Box 830660 Birmingham, Alabama 35283-0660 800-225-5797 Gulf Power is an investor-owned electric utility with all of itscommon stock owned by Atlanta-based parent Southern Company. Gulf Power serves more than 430,000 customers in 71 towns and communities in Northwest Florida. The USBE&IT I FALL 2014 41

CAREER OUTLOOK

company operates “three wholly-owned generating plants and a co-generation facility. Career information for students and graduates interested in Gulf Power and Southern Company is available here: http://www.gulfpower.com/about-us/careers.cshtml.

Lincoln Electric

22801 St. Clair Avenue Cleveland, OH 44117 216-481-8100 www.lincolnelectric.com Lincoln Electric has several specialties. It designs, develops and makes arc welding products, robotic arc-welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment and is a global leader in the brazing and soldering alloys sector. Lincoln looks for students and recent graduates with a strong desire to manufacture: http:// www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/company/ careers/Pages/students-recent-graduates. aspx.” Graduates with degrees in Chemistry, Computer Science, Electrical, industrial, and Mechanical Engineering, Material Science, and Metallurgy are in demand. Lincoln Electric has a variety of internships/co-ops available. Once hired, there are Engineering and Operations Development and Technical Sales Development Programs available.

Marathon Oil Corporation 5555 San Felipe Street Houston, TX 77056-2723.

713-629-6600

Marathon Oil Corporation is an independent upstream company that operates globally in Exploration and Production, Oil Sands Mining and Integrated Gas. Looking to work at Houston’s Marathon Oil Corporation, and want to find out what are its featured careers, click here: http://careers.marathonoil. com/?utm_source=careersite&utm_ campaign=careersitesearch. Or do you 42 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

want to join and keep up with Marathon’s social media prescence, start here: http:// careers.marathonoil.com/social-matcher/.

Here is the link to Marathon’s University Recruiting page, and the 15 universities and schools where it actively recruits: http://careers.marathonoil.com/content/ university/ .

Marathon Petroleum Corporation Corporate Headquarters 539 South Main Street Findlay, OH 45840 419-422-2121

Marathon Petroleum Corporation is the fourth-largest transportation fuels refiner and the biggest in the Midwest, with a 1.7 million barrels-per-calendar-day capacity. Marathon has a seven-plant refinery system, markets petroleum producst in the Southeast, Midwest, and Gulf Coast.

It also has more than 5,200 Marathon gas stations and about 1,480 Speedway gas stations. The Career page, http://www. marathonpetroleum.com/Careers/College_Graduate_Intern_or_Coop/, contains New College Graduate, Intern, and Co-Op student information. To learn about Marathon Petroleum’s internships, go here: http://www.marathonpetroleum.com/Careers/College_Graduate_Intern_or_Coop/.

Recent college graduate information is available too: http://www.marathonpetroleum.com/Careers/College_Graduate_Intern_or_Coop/College_Graduate/.

PG&E

transmit and deliver energy in the form of natural gas and electric service to about 15 million people in a 70,000-squaremile service area in northern and central California. Available positions at PG&E can be found using the job search link: http://www.pge.com/en/about/careers/ index.page. Students interested in summer jobs, go to http://www.pge.com/en/about/ careers/college/intern/index.page, and recent grads should click on: http://www. pge.com/en/about/careers/college/gradopportunities/index.page.

Peabody Energy Corporation Peabody Plaza 701 Market St. St. Louis, MO 63101-1826 314-342-3400

Peabody Energy the world’s largest private-sector coal company, with majority share in 27 coal operations throughout U.S. coal-producing regions and in Australia, has metallurgical and coal customers in about 25 countries. To find out about Peabody careers and search job opportunities, click here: http://www. peabodyenergy.com/content/130/Careers.

Recent graduate should look into the U.S. Operations Associate Program, http:// www.peabodyenergy.com/content/354/ Next-Generation-Programs/US-Operations-Associate-Program. Peabody has a partnership with INROADS, the nonprofit that works with with companies to provide internships to minority undergraduate students.

77 Beale Street, 24th Floor Mail Code B24W San Francisco, CA 94105 415-973-8200

Pepco Holdings, Inc.

PG&E is among the largest combination natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, the company is a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation. PG&E’s primary job is to

Pepco Holdings, Inc. (PHI) is one of the largest energy delivery companies in the Mid-Atlantic region, serving about 2 million customers in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland and

701 Ninth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20068 202-872-2000

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New Jersey. PHI subsidiaries include Pepco, Delmarva Power and Atlantic City Electric provide regulated electricity service; Delmarva Power provides natural gas service. At Pepco’s career page on the PHI website, http://www.pepcoholdings.com/careers/, students can view open positions, apply online, and get involved with employment testing.

previously the Chief Operating Officer of the El Paso Electric Company, and Senior Vice President of Operations at ComEd.

Power Grid Engineering, LLC

PMI Energy Solutions, LLC

Sundial Point 1341 Sundial Point Winter Springs, FL 32708 321-244-0170

PMI Energy Solutions (PMIES) is an electrical construction, maintenance and technical services contracting company focused on the utility industry. PMI’s website cites as its specialties performance of overhead and underground electrical distribution, construction and maintenance, directional boring, fiber optics, storm restoration and technical services. The CEO and founder is George Williams, a member of the board of directors of the American Association of Blacks in Energy. He was

Power Grid Engineering’s specialty is engineering design and consultation for the power system sector. Power Grid’s services are divided into seven divisions. They are Relay Protection & Control Engineering, Transmission Systems Planning & Power System Studies, Substation Engineering, Power Systems Training, Distribution Systems Engineering, Field Services, and Communications Systems. On PGE’s career page, http://www. powergridengineering.com/careers, are links to open positions and job applications. Take a look at Power Grid’s Internships & Co-Op’s, and On-Campus Recruiting page: http://www.powergridengineering.com/coop-internships.

1890 Suncast Lane Batavia, IL 60510 630-761-5000

We are driven to excel.

At Exelon, we recognize the value of inclusive and diverse teams.

As the nation’s leading competitive energy company, we are driven to perform, and our employees bring the background and training that help drive our progress. From engineering to information technology to operations and beyond, there are opportunities throughout the Exelon family of companies for you to create a brighter future.

www.exeloncorp.com/careers

Exelon is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and employees or applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law. © Exelon Corporation, 2014

CAREER OUTLOOK

PPL Corporation

Two North Ninth Street Allentown, PA 18101 610-774-5151 PPL Corporation’s companies include seven operating utilities, that deliver electricity and natural gas to more than 10 million U.S. and the U.K customers. PPL manages 19,000 megawatts of generation with power plants in Kentucky, Montana and Pennsylvania, and 200,000 miles of electric lines. PPL, a Fortune 500 company, is looking; http:// www.pplweb.com/careers.aspx, for Engineers, Finance and Accounting professionals, Plant Operators, and IT Professionals.

Check out the video on the company’s Internship, Cooperative Co-Op, and Student Ambassador program page: http://www. pplweb.com/careers/opportunities/studentopportunities.aspx. Note: PPL arranges housing for its summer interns and co-ops.

Southern California Edison 2244 Walnut Grove Ave Rosemead, CA, 91770 626-302-1212

Southern California Edison (SCE), whose parent is Edison International, is among the nation’s largest electric utilities. SCE distributes power to more than 14 million people in central, coastal, and southern California. SCE has 5,574 MW of net generating capacity from nuclear, hydroelectric, and fossil-fueled power plants. SCE shows Students & Recent Grads how professionals got their start through internships, explains intern qualifications http://www.edison.com/home/careers/students-recent-grads.html, provides an intern search engine: https://sce.taleo. net/careersection/sce_external_campus_ career_section/jobsearch.ftl, and a way to find out when there are campus visits.

44 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

Southern California Gas Company 555 W. 5th St. Los Angeles, CA 90013 213-244-1200

Southern California Gas Company is the nation’s biggest natural gas distribution utility. It provides energy to 20.9 million consumers in more than 500 communities in a service territory encompassing about 20,000 square miles throughout Central and Southern California. SoCalGas careers looks for top talent for its Engineering, and Accounting/Finance intern programs: http://www.socalgas. com/careers/internships-rotations.shtml,at college recruiting events at 11 California university and the University of Arizona.

Southern Company

30 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd. NW Atlanta, GA 30308 404-506-5000 Southern Company, serves 4.4 million customers in the Southeast United States, and owns Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, and Mississippi Power utility companies, and is a licensed operator of three nuclear generating plants and two fiber optics and wireless communications companies, Southern Telecom and SouthernLINC. At Southern’s Career page, http://www.southerncompany.com/ about-us/careers/home.cshtml, you can search for Jobs, find out about Campus Recruiting, and if a graduate click on Experienced Recruiting to see what jobs fit your skills. There is also an Internship page: http://www.southerncompany.com/ about-us/careers/campus-recruiting/intern. cshtml.

The Dow Chemical Company Midland, Michigan 48674 USA 989-636-1000

The Dow Chemical Company is a world leader in the manufacture of specialty chemicals, advanced materials, agrosciences, and plastics businesses for customers in about 180 countries. Customer sectors include packaging, electronics, water, coatings and agriculture. In 2013, Dow’s revenue topped $57 billion and the company had about 53,000 worldwide employees. Dow manufactures 6,000 products at 201 sites in 36 countries. Visit Careers at Dow, http://www.dow.com/ careers/, to find out about job openings. At the bottom of the page, read about a Co-op program and Internships: http://www.dow. com/careers/programs/student.htm, Rotational Programs, and Careers at Dow.

U.S. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Ave SW Washington, DC 20585 202-586-5000

The U.S. Department of Energy mission “is to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.” The DoE’s main divisions are Energy, Science & Innovation, Nuclear Safety and Security, and Management and Operational Excellence, and operates 21 Labs & Technology Centers: http://energy. gov/offices. STEM students and graduates interested in a career with the DoE should check out its Jobs page: http://energy.gov/ jobs/jobs. The page has links to Nationwide Jobs Opportunities and Internships.

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CAREER OUTLOOK

STEM Superstars to Watch WHERE DOES THE ENERGY SECTOR FIND ITS NEXT GEN STARS? AT HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

by Frank McCoy fmccoy@ccgmag.com

S

tudents ready your resumes for the energy sector’s burgeoning job market.

US Black Engineer & Information Technology provides pathways to jumpstart t your energy career. The discovery, extraction, production, refining, alteration of, distribution, transportation, and marketing of all type of oil, natural gas, wind, water, solar and alternative power sources depends upon your ability to meet energy desires and needs.

Everyone profiled below received all, or a part, of their STEM education, and internship contacts, while studying at an Historically Black College or University. These professionals expect you to replace them at their organizations, which include global oil and natural gas companies, utilities, chemical companies, research facilities, and entrepreneurial ventures.

Baker Hughes Incorporated Charleen Townsel

Process & Systems Lead B.S. Degree in Chemical Engineering, Prairie View A&M University

During the peak of the Deepwater Horizon response, Stallworth assisted in developing critical strategic priorities and tactical execution plans, and led effort to share what was learned. In the president’s office, Stallworth also lead planning activities for BP’s executive team and managed a $4 million budget. Before earning her M.B.A. she worked, at BP, and Eli Lilly.

Don Taylor

Project Engineer B.S. Degree in Chemical Engineering, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University M.S. Degree in Chemical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Charleen Townsel has been a Process & Systems Lead at Baker Hughes, an oilfield company that provides applicationspecific products and services to oil and gas operators with petroleum reservoirs, since 2012. After being graduated in 2002, Townsel worked in ascending order as an Engineering Specialist for ABB Lumus Global , at BP as a member of its Change Management Team, Accenture — as a consultant and Change Enablement Specialist, El Paso Energy as a Process Improvement Business Analyst, and for Waste Management’s Business Solutions Group.

-

Don Taylor is a BP project engineer. He is a manager at Thunder Horse PDQ (production-drilling-quarters), called the world’s largest production semi-submersible oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico’s deep water. The PDQ is a BP/ExxonMobil joint venture. Taylor’s responsibilities include managing engineering, cost, and PDQ projects schedule for the PDQ, and managing a 30-member team of engineers, construction, procurement, and planning personnel. All while maintaining facility safety and regulatory compliance and continuing and enhancing oil and gas production.

BP

Kesha Hagerman

LaToya Stallworth

Chief of Staff to BP President Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University M.B.A. Degree, Harvard Business School LaToya Stallworth has been Chief of Staff to the President of BP, a leading producer of oil and gas, for the past four years. www.blackengineer.com

Chevron Phillips Chemical Company Operations Engineer B.S. Degree in Chemical Engineering, Prairie View A&M University Kesha Hagerman joined Chevron Phillips Chemical Company (CPC), as a Polyethylene Process Engineer in 2012 not long after graduating from Prairie View A&M, and completing an internship at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

USBE&IT I FALL 2014 45

CAREER OUTLOOK

Since then she was promoted to production engineer in Polyethylene and Plant Utilities, and to her current position as an Operations Engineer in the Olefins Unit. CPC is a leading producer of olefins and polyolefins and top supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, piping, and proprietary plastics.

structor at the University of Cincinnati, was previously a market manager at Construction Software Technologies, and a business instructor at Lincoln College of Technology. The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. member also worked at Cincinnati Bell as a Product Manager, and GE Aircraft Engines as a Material Planning and Input Specialist.

Con Edison of NY

Eaton Corporation

Senior Analyst B.S., Degree in Electrical Engineering, Howard University

Quality Engineer B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering, Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College at Baton Rouge

Andrew Barnor

Andrew Barnor joined was hired by Con Edison of New York in 2013. Con Edison provides electric service to about 3.3 million customers and gas service to about 1.1 million customers in New York City and Westchester County. Barnor had previously worked, in two-year stints, respectively, at James G. Davis Construction as an Electrical Estimator, at Titus LLC, a provider of electrical, mechanical, engineering, and management services for public and private clients, as a Project Manager, and Clark Construction as an Estimator/Office Engineer.

Duke Energy Corporation

Babajide Eseosa Imoukhuede

Kijuan Poland

Kijuan Poland was hired as a Manufacturing Engineer and rose to Quality Engineer at Eaton Corporation. The global company specializes in making electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power customers more energy efficient. Poland is a leader in quality planning, problem-solving initiatives, and cross-functional teams in process improvement initiatives for Eaton’s Medium Voltage product line, and for 8D teams for Suppliers, Internally Manufactured Parts, and Customer related failures. At Southern University, Poland was the recipient of the Most Outstanding Electrical Engineering Student Award in 2011-2012.

Design Engineer (Electrical) B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering, Morgan State University M.S. Degree in Engineering Management, Purdue University

Ryan Leonard

Babajide Eseosa Imoukhuede has been with Duke Energy. the largest electric power holding company in the United States, since 2012. His portfolio include developing design changes to plant systems, creating nuclear engineering change packages, and originating procurement specifications and technical requirement documents. Prior to Duke Energy, Imoukhuede was an engineer at Kroger Manufacturing worked in a rotational program on plant engineering and maintenance operations,

Ryan Leonard, a winner of multiple academic awards including President’s, Dean’s list, and an Agriculture Construction Engineering (ACE) Robins & Morton Scholarship Recipient, joined Eaton Corp. in 2013. He had performed teasts as a Research Assistant at Alabama A&M on a NASA software that would allowed the simulation of Analog and Mixed Signal Circuits, after interning at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Janet Myles

Olanrewaju Bakare

Change Management Lead B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering, Southern University A&M M.B.A. Degree in Marketing, Xavier University Janet Myles became a Change Management Lead at Duke Energy, Duke Energy. the largest electric power holding company in the United States in 2013. Myles, who is also an in46 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

Power Systems Engineer B.S. Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University

Entergy

Transmission Line Design Engineer B.S. Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College at Baton Rouge Olanrewaju Bakare joined Entergy nearly three years ago.

Since then he has worked in Kenner, La., on many projects.

These include designing and issuing packages for 69kV, 161kV, www.blackengineer.com

230kV and 345kV transmission lines, provided engineering support to the transmission line department, and managed the transmission line project prioritization list preparing scope documents, cost estimates, and material lists. Entergy Corporation specializes in electric power production and retail distribution operations with utility customers are in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

Exelon

Grady Jones

Electrical Component Specialist at Exelon Nuclear B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering, Hampton University Grady Jones was hired by Exelon Nuclear in 2006. Based in the Chicago area, Jones has risen steadily since then from First Line Supervisor Electrical Maintenance to Electrical Maintenance Manager to his current post as Electrical Component Specialist. Exelon, one of the biggest U.S. power generators with about 35,000 megawatts of owned capacity, operates in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Exelon Nuclear operates the nation’s largest fleet of nuclear plants with 23 reactors at 14 sites in six states.

John Harlley

Regional Engineer B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering, Morgan State University M.S. Degree in Economics Finance & Cost Engineering John Harlley has been in the energy business since 2009 when he joined Constellation Energy, which was purchased

by Exelon. Harlley’s current responsibilities include planning and installing of 2nd stage attemperator valves in the Brandon Shores Power Plant, planning the material cost, quantity, labor cost, man-hours, and engineering design of four secondary inlet and outlet condenser valves for Brandon Shores Power Plant Units 1 & 2, and changing Remote Terminal Unit passwords and creating a database on their names and locations.

Florida Power and Light Daishaun Sylva-Senette

Protection & Control Engineer B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering, Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College at Baton Rouge Daishaun Sylva-Senette joined Florida Power and Light as a Transmission Performance & Diagnostic Center Operator www.blackengineer.com

and moved quickly to his current position. His responsibilities include installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and root cause analysis of protective relay control systems, primarily within the Transmission and Distribution substations and Generation facilities, and compliance documentation for equipment testing and maintenance. Florida Power & Light Company is the Sunshine state’s largest electric utility and one of the biggest rate-regulated utilities in the United States serving about 4.6 million customer accounts.

Georgia Power (A Southern Company) Denise Jeffcoat

Engineer B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University M.S. Degree in Information Engineering Management, University of Alabama at Birmingham Denise Jeffcoat has spent most of her career working at Southern Company subsidiaries. At Georgia Power, she is involved in capital project developments to resolve transmission line conflicts. Previously, Jeffcoat spent four years with Alabama Power involved in distribution planning and support for the Birmingham North operations area. Before that, in Southern’s Gulf Power Company, she was involved in reliability needs, developing and monitoring a trouble program, and generating outage tracking reports. In 2013, Georgia Power had 2.4 million customers.

Pepco Holdings (PHI) Wes Davis

Manager, Distribution Planning B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University M.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering, Kansas State University Ph.D. Degree in Electrical Engineering-Power Systems, UNC Charlotte Wes Davis has worked in energy since 1994, when he was a Public Utilities Engineer, and in nine positions of increasing responsibility. As Manager, Distribution Planning, he manages and directs PHI’s electric Distribution Planning teams. Davis ensures distribution systems in DC, Maryland and NJ, and coordination among internal planning processes, and compliance with governmental regulations related to distribution planning.

PHI delivers energy to about two million customers in the MidAtlantic region.

USBE&IT I FALL 2014 47

CAREER OUTLOOK

Brian Willis

Lead Engineer - NERC B.S. Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, South Carolina State University In 1994, Brian Willis joined Pepco Holdings, Inc. (PHI).

Over the next 20 years, he rose up th promotion escalator from Engineer, Planning Services to Planning Engineer to Senior Engineer to Lead Engineer – NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation). Today, he leads the Pepco team that completes load flow studies, and Willis gathers cost estimates and short circuit results and provides that information to PJM, world’s largest competitive wholesale electricity market. PHI delivers energy to about two million customers in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Eric Borden

Sr. Supervising Engineer - NERC B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering, Howard University Eric Borden has only worked at PHI, rising from Engineer 1 to Senior Supervising Engineer in four years. NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation) is a nonprofit global regulatory authority tasked to ensure that North America’s bulk power system is reliable. Borden’s team of engineers and technical assistants creates and revises substation design standards, technical specifications, and corporate procedures across PHI’s various regions. PHI delivers energy to about two million customers in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Power Grid Engineering, LLC

Southern Company Christopher Whitfield

Senior Engineer - Licensing B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering, Tuskegee University Christopher Whitfield has had a varied career. Hired in 2005, the year he was graduated from Tuskegee University, Whitfield began as an Instrument and Controls System Engineer. He was site lead for capital projects relating to component upgrades for an Analog Transmitter Trip System Project.

Whitfield was previously an auditor/Assessor evaluating site and corporate activities for compliance with Quality Assurance Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants and Fuel Reprocessing Plants.

Southern Company, serves 4.4 million customers in the Southeast United States, and owns Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, and Mississippi Power utility companies.

Diego Howard

Senior Engineer B.S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Tuskegee University Diego Howard is a Senior Engineer at the Southern Company. Previously, the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. member had been a Structural Liaison Engineer at Pemco World Air Services, a Senior Engineer at Sikorsky Aircraft, and a Systems Engineer at Raytheon. Southern Company, serves 4.4 million customers in the Southeast United States, and owns Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, and Mississippi Power utility companies.

Charles Melton

Director of Field Services & Chief Safety Officer B.S. Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

Design Engineer B.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering, Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University Graduated Cum Laude in Electrical Engineering with a strong focus on computer engineering.

Victor Laird wants everyone to be safe at Power Grid Engineering (PGE), a Florida company whose specialty is engineering design and consultation for the power system sector. Laird leads and manages field services teams in Florida and Georgia, and customer service. He is also PGE’s Chief Safety Officer with responsibility for PGE employees’ safety and wellbeing through educational safety meetings, safety training, and promote a safety first culture. Previously, he was the company’s Lead Test Engineer.

Providing instrumentation and control engineering design services for Southern Nuclear at Plant Vogtle. Preparing and coordinating designs, safety evaluations, engineering analyses, drawings, cost estimates and schedules for plant modifications and retrofits. Work involves field walk downs for constructability and some construction coordination. Southern Company, serves 4.4 million customers in the Southeast United States, and owns Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, and Mississippi Power utility companies.

Victor Laird

48 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

www.blackengineer.com

Darrien Brown

Sr. Quality Assurance Engineer B.S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College at Baton Rouge Darrien Brown was promoted by Southern Company in 2012. He ensures that safety-significant purchased deliverables comply with code contractual requirements by conducting supplier surveillances and audits. When hired in 2006 as a Mechanical/Nuclear Engineer, Brown was the lead Engineer for a Material Condition Assessment Process . It corrected propulsion plant maintenance deficiencies on nuclear vessels reducing maintenance deficiencies and extending nuclear vessels’ life expectancy. Southern Company, serves 4.4 million customers in the Southeast United States, and owns Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, and Mississippi Power utility companies.

Emmitt H. Wooten Jr.

Sr. Production Leader - Elastomers and Polyethylene B.S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Prairie View A&M University M.S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering, University of Tennessee-Knoxville Emmitt H. Wooten Jr. has spent 11 years of his 18-year professional career at Dow Chemical, which he joined in 2003, after working seven years at Georgia Pacific. Wooten is now a Sr. Production Leader - Elastomers and Polyethylene, but began at Dow in 2003 as a Run Plant Engineer working with hydrocarbon rubber or Nordel Mg – Epdm. Dow Chemical is a world leader in the manufacture of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences, and plastics.

The Dow Chemical Corporation

U.S. Department of Energy

Six Sigma Improvement Engineer B.S. Degree in Chemical Engineering, Howard University M.S. Degree in Sustainable Engineering, Villanova University

General Engineer B.S. Degree in Nuclear Engineering, South Carolina State University M.S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering, North Carolina State University

Arielle Benjamin

Arielle Benjamin is a new engineer. She began working at Dow in 2013. The sustainable engineer is involved in process improvement projects that use six-sigma techniques to manage work orders and maintenance which assist a Dow plant. She is also developing a strategy to address production losses due to plant equipment, which could eliminate or lessen risk factors.

Dow Chemical is a world leader in the manufacture of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences, and plastics.

Gary Dunbar

Sr. Reliability Engineer B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering, Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College at Baton Rouge Manufacturing Operations, Kettering University

Vanna Gaffney

Vanna Gaffney has been with the U.S. Department of Energy since 2011 working as a Radiation Protection Specialist (Health Physicist), and on environmental management issues.

Gaffeney began working toward her career with savvy internship selections. During May 2007, she had been a summer intern in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and worked in the Office of Nuclear Reactors Regulation. Previously, she interned at Florida Power & Light on nuclear facility documents, and at Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Inc.

Gary Dunbar joined Dow Chemical Corporation in 2011, and as a Senior Reliability Engineer has been involved in Instrument/Electrical Maintenance and Reliability. Previously, Dunbar worked at Kimberly-Clark as an Electrical Engineer IV, General Motors as an Electrical Controls Engineer, and a Technical Support Supervisor/Manufacturing Engineering. Dow Chemical is a world leader in the manufacture of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences, and plastics. www.blackengineer.com

USBE&IT I FALL 2014 49

COLLEGE MARKETPLACE

STEM STUDENT SURVIVAL

GUIDE

FINANCIAL AID: HELP OR HINDRANCE?

A

Mariana Sierra, project manager, Gas Transmission, Pacific Gas and Electric Company

college education is one of the major purchases you will make over a lifetime. But like cars and houses, the “business of university” comes with so many loan products and grant services it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology magazine (HE&IT) magazine asked the opinions of students, financial aid professionals, and STEM executives to get insights on everything from student borrowing to debt and financial aid programs.

Seven years ago, a Washington, D.C.-based public policy and advocacy organization found that nearly half of all student borrowers carried an average balance of $3,176 in credit card debt, and 58 percent of Hispanic college students are graduating with unmanageable debt. To raise awareness throughout college campuses and communities, the National Puerto Rican Coalition traveled across the United States and Puerto Rico coordinating various workshops to address the importance of credit building and financial literacy.

The first mistake that many students and families make is assuming they can’t afford to pay after looking at the sticker price of colleges or universities, said Erin Timmons, managing editor at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA). According to Timmons, author of “University Business: Less Debt, Easier Payback,” financial aid can significantly reduce costs.

But going by recent headlines that over 70 percent of undergraduates in 2012 left school with a diploma and debt, to the tune of nearly $30,000 per person, and that student loan debt 50 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

is totaling $1.2 trillion — surpassing both credit card and auto loan debt in size, it’s hard to see just how much of a reduction financial aid can make. In a recent interview with Inc. com, Mark Cuban, “shark” investor on the television series Shark Tank and owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, observed that colleges allow students/ potential students to borrow more and more money for Erin Timmons, managing editor, Association of Student tuition because it’s guaran- National Financial Aid Administrators teed by Sallie Mae and the government.

The flip side, Timmons noted, is that the way to avoid takwww.blackengineer.com

COLLEGE MARKETPLACE ing out loans is to start research early. Colleges and universities offer what they think students might need, but students are not obligated to take the full amount offered, she said.

“There’s so much spiraling around in the media about outof-control loan debt, and amounts that students are having trouble paying back,” Timmons said. “But NAFSAA wants to remind students that there are scholarship and grant resources out there and if students start their research early to find financial aid they will probably defray some of their loans.”

Start early. Get informed.

A big proponent of financial literacy, NAFSAA, which serves nine out of 10 undergraduates in the United States and represents nearly 20,000 financial aid professionals at 3,000 colleges, universities, and career schools across the country, advises the first step should be finding out ways to pay.

NAFSAA’s toolkit has resources that can help, Timmons said. The “Students, Parents and Counselors” section on the website has an overview of financial aid — what it is and the difference between merit-based aid vs. needs-based aid — which is important for students to understand. Merit based aid is given to students who do exceptionally well in academics, music, athletics, or plan to have a career in an area that benefits the community or in career fields such as science, math or engineering.

Needs-based aid is given to students who demonstrate a lack of financial resources to pay for college.

Knowing the difference starts with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA, Timmons said. “With that one application you can apply for financial aid at multiple colleges and multiple funding sources: federal, state, institutional and private providers.”

But until a bill passes to simplify the 108-question FAFSA, which has been described as intimidating and time-consuming by some U.S. senators, Timmons advises students to use the checklist backed with tips on NAFSAA’s website to limit delays and apply for financial aid every year.

“It helps because if there’s been a change in your circumstances — one of your parents has lost their job or illness has created new medical expenses going into your sophomore year — a new FAFSA form allows financial administrators to recalculate the amount they think you can reasonably claim.”

The Most Important Aid is Scholarships Through FAFSA, Dong-Nghi (Donny) Hua, a Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training (MST) software engineering professional, was able to obtain more grants and loans.

“Since this covered less than half of what I needed, I also applied for engineering scholarships through my university,” Hua explained. www.blackengineer.com

Dong-Nghi (Donny) Hua, software engineer, Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training

Timmons added that it’s important for students to know that those colleges and universities which meet full needs are committed to ensuring students have the full amount of money to attend.

However, at schools that are unable to meet full needs, students should do research to see what types of merit-based or needs based scholarships are available outside the university.

“The most important financial aid for me was scholarships,” said Pranay Tewari, a senior at Arizona State University majoring in finance and a 2014 DHL Global Forwarding’s intern in Tempe, Arizona. “There are many different scholarships offered in universities and students should apply for them,” he advised.

Pranay Tewari, senior, Arizona State University “Scholarships have different requirements that need to be met but I used to treat those as goals I need to achieve each year.”

You can never have too many scholarships Mariana Sierra, a project manager in gas transmission at the Pacific Gas and Electric Company since graduating from the University of California Berkeley in 2004, applied for every scholarship and financial aid she could from the Bay Area in northern California to nationwide bodies such as the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.

“Our scholarship awards range from $500 up to $5,000,” said Vikki Gutierrez, director of marketing and communications for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF).

The HSF awards over 150 types of scholarships and has administered $430 million in scholarships since the organization was founded in 1975.

“We are also one of the administrators of the Gates Millennium ScholVikki Gutierrez, director of marketing and communications, Hispanic ars program to the Latino Scholarship Fund population, which can pay for all four years and give a full ride all the way to Ph.D.” Graduate Fellow Meline Baghdasarian is attached to the Center for Energy and Sustainability in the department of mechanical engineering at California State University, Los Angeles.

“My first scholarship was from the Boeing Company, and I was a USBE&IT I FALL 2014 51

COLLEGE MARKETPLACE NACME (National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering) scholar for several years,” she recalled.

“Financial aid covered almost all my tuition when I was an undergraduate.

When I got to graduate school, I received a fellowship from the Center for Energy and Sustainability funded by the National Science Foundation. This center fully funded my Meline Baghdasarian, California master’s degree. I also State University, Los Angeles worked part time starting my sophomore year at school and then got a paid internship the following two summers.”

Twenty-something, Cuban-born Maria R. Martinez, who came to the United States in 2009 as a high school senior, recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Florida International University.

“I financed my entire career through scholarships, fellowships and grants,” Maria said. “During my undergrad, I obtained the Ronald McDonald Scholarship, Bank of America Scholarship, Jorge Mas Canosa Scholarship, Florida Structure Engineering Chapter Scholarship, American Association of Civil Engineers Scholarship, and Cuban American Association of Civil Engineers Scholarship, among others,” she said.

Norma Manzanarez, currently a chemical engineering student at Lamar University and summer intern at Bayer Material Science in Baytown, Texas, also took the initiative and applied for scholarships.

“There are many available,” she said. “Sometimes it is just a matter of searching for them and applying. It takes some time filling out applications, but it is worth it.”

And if you have to take a break from your studies to work full-time, this can be a learning experience too. Norma attended

the University of Houston (1998-2004) as a chemical engineering student and completed three co-ops at Dow Chemical. Then she took a break to work and save money to finish her education. She says that the time in industry taught her new skills and was very valuable.

You can never have too Maria R. Martinez, Florida State University many internships As a freshman, Maria was a tutor in the Florida International University Student Support Service Office. During her sophomore year, while going to school full-time, she worked as a learning assistant in the Algebra Lab. She completed an engineering internship which opened doors to conduct research as a Ronald E. McNair fellow in the Titan America Structures and Construction Testing Laboratory under College of Engineering and Computing Dean Amir Mirmiran, who Maria says has been a mentor and a driving force in her success.

Maria continued working with the structural design team while undertaking internships including one with the Florida Department of Transportation, earning a coveted NACME Fellowship, a Florida-Georgia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation scholarship (FGLSAMP), and making the Dean’s list. FGLSAMP, a National Science Foundation Project, includes over 500 talented undergraduates in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors.

Upon graduation, Maria plans to pursue a master’s in structural engineering at Stanford University, where she earned a fellowship and scholarship that will cover her tuition and living expenses.

In 2006, Stanford established a $10 million financial aid program for Latin American students. The Alejandro and Lida Zaffaroni Scholarship and Fellowship Program was partly funded by gifts from a group of more than 35 associates who credited Zaffaroni with providing inspiration, mentorship and friendship during the course of their careers.

Zaffaroni, an innovator in biotechnology and drug delivery systems, and generous humanitarian with close ties to Stanford, died March 1 at age 91. His deepest personal satisfaction came from finding new ways to apply the findings of science to the treatment of disease and the prevention of human suffering.

52 USBE&IT I FALL 2014

www.blackengineer.com

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800.622.6531 | 334-727-8355 | lburge@mytu.tuskegee.edu | www.tuskegee.edu Tuskegee University is accredited with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate, master’s, doctorate, and professional degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Tuskegee University.

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