MINORITY SPEAK

Recently, Minority Speak subscriber Nija, shared with us her personal success story and we wanted to share it with you! Enjoy and congrats to Nija for being a true role model with the courage to share a story of strength, determination, positivity, and success!

From Nija:

I was born in Decatur, Ill to Leroy and Opalene, as the second of four children. Raised on the east side of Detroit in the 80s and 90s, I didn’t have the kind of leadership that was needed to direct me on the right path. Being amongst the street hoodlums and having friends that were parts of gangs and drugs, life as I knew it had to change.

I eventually enrolled and received a “highest honors” certificate as an Office Specialist from the Detroit Business Institute and immediately landed a job working for the city. Though I had made one decision for the better, I still felt that I needed a change of scenery. There was life beyond Detroit and I wanted to see it.

In 1999, I joined the United States Air Force where life as I knew it changed dramatically. I became one of a handful of women to pursue a career as an Automated Integrated Flight Controls/Navigation (AFIN) electronics technician. My primary task was on/off maintenance of the electrical gadgets/indicators/controls for the 2nd largest cargo aircraft carrier in the world. In addition to being one of the few women who didn’t mind wearing a grimy uniform, scuffed boots, and getting her hands dirty, I was also one of even fewer black women to do this job.

The result of my hard work has developed me into a driven, results-oriented professional with a proven record of accomplishment in leading and motivating others.

As a proud veteran who has come back with extensive technical, supervisory, and trainer experience, I am in the process of changing careers. As a Human Resources Management major, I am currently attending Baker College with a future desire to provide leadership to ensure that human resources practices are fair & maintain integrity among the diversity of all people. Currently working towards obtaining my BA, I will eventually excel toward my MA.

I know that it will take a lot of hard work and dedication and I look forward to networking with others who are striving and have come out of hard times and have grabbed onto the baton of prosperity without letting go.

Today, I am a single, proud mother of a son with autism. Through my trials, I have become a stronger woman, of perseverance, and committed to the kind of life I desire for me and my child. I desire a comfortable, stable lifestyle and relationships with others based on professionalism, spirituality, and mutual respect.

Personally, I am frank, expressive, and don’t disguise my intentions. My love for others is sincere which comes from the depths of my heart though I am not a push-over. I am somewhat of a perfectionist and I hold high expectations of others (I demand a lot, but I also give a lot).

I hope to read about your lives and how every path you’ve taken thus far has molded you into who you are today. Thanks for reading and God bless.

–Nija

Have a success story of your own you’d like to tell? Be sure to register to Minority Speak to show your support and then email us for more info.

-Minority Speak

No Comments »

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The College of Engineering at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University has named the recipients of its Clare Boothe Luce Doctoral Fellowships. The fellows, Ebonni Adams and Khaliah Hughes, have each received four year fellowships to pursue Ph.D. degrees in engineering at N.C.A&T.

Adams, originally from Southfield, Mich., obtained her B.S. degree in industrial engineering from A&T and her M.S. degree in mechanical engineering from The University of Michigan. She will be coming from industry at Kennedy Space Center to pursue a doctorate in mechanical engineering. Hughes graduated this spring from A&T with a B.S. degree in industrial engineering. The Burlington, N.C. native will proceed directly from the B.S. to the Ph.D. in industrial engineering.

Eligibility requirements for the Clare Boothe Luce Graduate Fellowship include:

• female U.S. citizen
• newly admitted Ph.D. student in a doctoral engineering program at A&T
• entrance into the doctoral program in fall 2007
• plans to pursue an academic career in a university setting after completion of the doctoral program.

The Clare Boothe Luce Program is the single largest private source of funding for women in the sciences (including mathematics) and engineering in the nation. Luce was the wife of Henry R. Luce, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time, Inc. Also, she was a very accomplished person in her own right. She was a successful playwright, journalist and Ambassador to Italy for the United States of America, the first woman in the nation to hold such a position. Although Luce’s accomplishments were in other professional fields, she believed that all women faced obstacles in their professional careers and she especially wanted to increase the representation of women in the science and engineering.

An excerpt from the “News & Record” Newspaper:

NEWS RELEASE
Contact:
Nettie C. Rowland
(336) 256-0863
August 3, 2007

No Comments »