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Focus on diversity African American
engineers are finding success in their first jobs As EEs, MEs, ChEs and more, they're learning
and growing their careers Many found their jobs through internship and
co-op experiences By Jon Boroshok |
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According to an analysis by the Commission on Professionals in
Science and Technology (www.cpst.org),
the percentage of African Americans receiving bachelors degrees in
engineering has increased from an average of 3.5 percent of all engineering
grads during the early 1990s to nearly 4.7 percent over the past three years.
That's a significant overall rise. Diversity is making
its way into corporate Many employers are
moving in the right direction. The new African American engineers we
interviewed have all found companies that appreciate their talents. They're
part of the changing face of today's engineering workforce.
Cardin
"Leo" Campbell: intern to employee at Intel After a childhood in
"I'm very
prepared for this job through academia, and I'm getting more training on the
job, in PeopleSoft and other group level tools. I also take other
Wande Soyombo:
networking at Northrop Grumman She finished her
BSEE in 1999, and went on to receive a masters in bioengineering from the Soyombo's focus was
on instrumentation, matching her strong interest in human factors and the
application of electrical devices to the human body. She completed her
masters thesis on the instrumentation of computers and other devices for
assisting asthma patients. She was recruited on
campus into Northrop Grumman's Professional Development Program, which she
found attractive because its system of rotational assignments exposed her to
different aspects of the company. After three four- to six-month rotations,
Soyombo has spent the last year as a systems hardware engineer for the
company's Electronic Systems sector in Soyombo has also
immersed herself into the Northrop Grumman culture via the firm's Women's
Learning Group, a networking program with monthly guest speakers and a group
mentoring program. She remains very active in NSBE, currently serving as vice
president of the local professional chapter, and is helping plan an annual
radar conference.
Tammy Pickett: a
smooth transition at Southern Nuclear Originally from She joined NSBE in
college, and was awarded a scholarship through the BellSouth Minority
Engineering Program. She also won a City of Pickett's internship
with Southern Co led to a job offer, allowing her a smooth transition from
intern to employee. "I feel that I have adjusted well to this
environment, and I'm learning fast. There are a lot of diverse roots in the
company," she says. Pickett advises any
college student to continue to think positive, work hard, have goals and know
where he/she wants to go in life. "I worked every semester in college,
and sometimes I worked two jobs during the summer break," she says.
"I had scholarships, but they were not enough to cover my expenses. Working
part time while attending an engineering college full time wasn't easy, but I
had determination and a positive attitude."
Gaston Large of "Basically what
we do is bring power to new customers," says Large. "Sometimes the
customers are in a new subdivision so weÊdesign the placement of power lines,
transformers and poles." Large won a Large did both
co-ops and internships with Southern Co Services in Large's mother was
one of thirteen children, and graduated from "My parents
worked hard together so that my brother and I would be able to experience
things greater than they did. My father was very hard on me as a child
because he said that he knew what I could achieve," Large says. "I was told
that if it was easy, everyone would do it. No one is going to give you
anything - you will have to work for it. After working so hard, you will
enjoy the success a whole lot more," he says.
DuPont's Janine
Buseman-Williams works at the nano level "DuPont has
long been a leader in titanium dioxide, but when titanium dioxide is taken
down to the nano level, new opportunities and applications exist," says
Buseman-Williams. "It is used in both UV protection and photocatalysis,
and we explore how to make these properties meaningful in end use
applications." Buseman-Williams
earned her MSCE from the After summer
internships with BP in Buseman-Williams is
involved in DuPont diversity programs, women's networks and mentoring
programs. Through them, she has access to higher-level people at meetings,
lunches, workshops and conferences.
Omowale Casselle of
Ford: five to ten years ahead Casselle is currently
working on restraint sub-systems for model year 2007 cars. "Anything you
see on the streets, we're working on it five to ten years ahead," says
Casselle. "It's cool. I like to solve problems related to cars." He earned his BSME
from the Casselle joined NSBE
in school, and taught "Engineering 100," an eight-week seminar run
by upperclass students. The seminar's object is to introduce first-year
engineering majors to the U of I College of Engineering. "It's always
good to look at someone four years down the road from you," Casselle
says. "You can see what they've done well, and avoid their
mistakes." He had two
internships at Ford, in manufacturing and in product development. Casselle
says the internship experience was invaluable to his career path, teaching
him how to function daily in the corporate world and to apply the theory he
learned in school. In addition to his
job, Casselle is also a member of the recruiting team for Ford at the He received an offer
the September after his second internship, and went through his senior year
with a job already secured. He advises current students to "focus on
grades - that's what makes someone first look at you. Then do internships or
co-ops to see what the job and industry is really about."
Seagate's Troy Sabal
is still learning at work He received his
bachelors in EE from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities ( Sabal also did
internships, including one in civil engineering, for the city of Sabal advises
current college students not to give up on their college educations.
"Get through it. Try not to compare yourself to others, be yourself, and
understand why you are the way you are."
Mickelea
"Mickey" Wilson: electrical reliability at SDG&E Originally from Although With no family on
the West Coast, She also helped
prepare the students for the annual "try-math-alon" (TMAL)
competition hosted by NSBE. During the competition, students are asked
questions about math, science and black history. Augustus Bedu-Addo:
rotation assignments at SDG&E Bedu-Addo's first
assignment was in distribution standards, the second in substation
engineering and design, and the last, where he is now, in eastern district
construction and operations. He resolves customer voltage complaintsÊand
performs circuit balancing and other reliability analysis and improvement
tasks. Bedu-Addo did
internships with the He was a member of
IEEE and NSBE in school, and received a General Motors scholarship. Like Bedu-Addo says he is
comfortable with people of all races. There were many foreign students in the
Howard engineering program. "I met people from everywhere," he
says. He advises that "College is a time where we should have fun,
network and meet diverse personalities and have the opportunity to become
mature, well-rounded citizens. I think little things like making up a study
timetable for each day and having the discipline to maintain it are key to
college success."
Systems engineer
William McKnight: learning at BAE Systems Much of the work
McKnight is doing is for the military, although it's as a contractor.
"I'm learning a lot. The learning curve is super exponential," he
says. McKnight received
several scholarships at NJIT, including a presidential scholarship that
lowered his tuition to in-state rates. He also received a James E. Bowen
scholarship for Christian achievement, and participated in the McKnight points out
that a lot of aid and grant dollars go unclaimed because students are not
always aware of all their financial opportunities. McKnight feels that being
a minority is an advantage. "There's so much money out there for
minorities. You just have to look for it."
Wadson Felix:
engineering services at NAVAIR Felix is a member of
the P-3 Orion aircraft fleet support team. His job involves designing and
testing new electrical installations, troubleshooting electrical system
problems and overseeing the modification of P-3 aircraft. The As a NAVAIR
engineer, Felix works on avionics components, aircraft systems integration
and other projects for the P-3. He's involved in engineering decisions, and
works with other electrical, aerospace and logistics engineers. He has worked
with the Naval Research Laboratory to modify a P-3 aircraft to serve as a
test platform, and recently did the electrical distribution design for an
admiral's VIP P-3 aircraft. Felix was raised in
Deere's Rhea Johnson:
the value of co-ops She is proof of the
value of co-ops and internships. While attending Tuskegee University
(Tuskegee, AL), she did a co-op at John Deere each year. When she graduated
with a BSME in 2001, she was immediately offered a job. In college, Johnson
was a member of both NSBE and SWE, and received a scholarship from Tuskegee.
At John Deere, she has gotten involved in mentoring, special employee events
and diversity programs. Johnson has not felt
any particular race-related challenges at work or school, but quickly points
out that she was not a minority on campus. "John Deere is making steps
in the right direction by recruiting more diverse employees," she says.
Delivering diversity Darya Fields,
Southern Co's diversity manager, says that the firm has made a commitment to
a diverse workplace. Affinity groups have been created within the Southern Co
system to help employees voice issues, present solutions and participate in
activities that, in turn, help the company better serve its diverse customer
base. A diversity advisory
council assesses company culture to determine areas needing improvement.
Southern Co's supplier diversity program is committed to the development of
minority- and female-owned businesses, and to the establishment of mutually
beneficial business relationships with these enterprises. A workplace ethics
program is in place that ensures company policies, requirements and
guidelines are applied to all employees in an impartial, reasonable and
nondiscriminatory manner. Southern Co has a
company-wide two-day mandatory training program that emphasizes valuing the
differences of all employees, and has added mandatory training for leaders
that focuses on managing the individual, the situation and the subculture of
workgroups. Deborah Taylor,
associate director of global diversity for John Deere and Co, explains that
as a Fortune 500 company with offices worldwide, the firm has a commitment
and "opportunity to diversify worldwide. "We keep
employees happy and engaged," says Most of the
engineers in this story say they did not feel any additional pressures or
challenges because they are African American. They believe that their workplace
experiences and acceptance in the business world are no different from anyone
else's. Their ideas and ideals will help shape their companies and the
diverse world of business. D/C Jon Boroshok is a
freelance writer in |
