NSBE - Conference 2012 - (Page 26)

Tyrone Strozier of General dynamics C4 Systems Earning Success through preparation By Peter Slavin yrone Strozier grew up in rural Georgia in his grandmother’s home in the 1960s. “The one lesson she taught me that I’ll never forget…,” he says, “is it’s always business before pleasure.” As a result, in his career, he has always focused on being prepared. “When I got home from school, the first thing I did was…homework,” he recalls, and in the summer, “I was always the first kid at the bookmobile.” His grandmother demanded that he read several books before September. One of a handful of minority kids in his high school’s program for gifted students, he was recognized as the school’s outstanding student as a senior. Aptitude in math and science led him to Georgia Tech, where the mediocre public schools he’d attended caught up with him. He was on the verge of expulsion in his sophomore year. In that dark time, Strozier says he often recalled a job he’d taken one summer in a cotton mill, his hometown’s major employer. It was broiling hot, humid, dusty and dangerous, and he lasted only three weeks. He figured if he didn’t cut it in college, he’d have to go back. Spurred by t “General Dynamics C4 Systems focuses on technical skills and intellect, but it’s just as important to have communication skills and relationships to help your career grow.” that fear, he worked his way off academic probation, made the Dean’s List four straight semesters and earned a master’s degree, with honors. Strozier attributes this success to hard work, learning how to learn and realizing what techniques worked best for him. He learned how to ask for help and “how to teach myself.” He was one of the few students who chose to take demanding self-study courses in physics. He also enrolled in the summer quarter, taking advantage of smaller classes and greater access to instructors. After leaving Georgia Tech, Strozier started his professional career at NASA’s Langley Research 26 • nsbe magazine • convention 2012 Center in Hampton, Va., in 1980, then spent nearly two decades at Motorola, where he began as a communications system engineer and became a manager after eight years. His first management job was overseeing the installation of part of the electronic communication chain from Earth to the Space Station (later named the International Space Station). In 2001, his group at Motorola was acquired by General Dynamics. Today, at General Dynamics C4 Systems in Scottsdale, Ariz., Strozier is working with NASA again, as director of Goddard Space Flight Center’s Space Network Ground Segment Sustainment program. C4 Systems, based in Scottsdale, is focused on “the development, design, manufacturing and integration of secure communication, information and technology solutions.” The company employs approximately 10,000 persons worldwide. Since 2010, Strozier has managed the replacement of the ground system and network for NASA’s constellation of tracking and data relay satellites used to communicate with platforms in and beyond Earth’s orbit. The Hubble Space Telescope is one such platform. When Hubble operators want to download photos from the telescope, they schedule time on one of the satellites using the ground system in Strozier’s purview. Strozier knows he did not climb the corporate ladder on his own. “General Dynamics C4 Systems focuses on technical skills and intellect,” he notes, “but it’s just as important to have communication skills and relationships to help your career grow….I was fortunate to have a couple of really strong mentors and some good managers.” Active in a number of community and civic groups, Strozier points in particular to an afterschool program called eCrew, whose goal is to get middle schoolers fired up about engineering. He helped start the enterprise, now in its third year, which provides about 20 students with hands-on engineering exercises; information about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers; a tour of Arizona State University; and mentoring. The program is a partnership of Arizona State, General Dynamics and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale. ■ www.nsbe.org http://www.nsbe.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NSBE - Conference 2012

NSBE - Conference 2012
Table of Contents
Passing the Torch
The Programs Zone
Membership News
NSBE Mourns the Loss of Mario Church, Former National Chair
NSBE Makes STEM Education Pledge to the Clinton Global Initiative
SEEK 2012 Update
Kevin Austin of TEMA
Courtney Skinner of GE
William S. Redmond III of NAVAIR
Dr. Bryan Reid of MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Janelle Johnson of PGW
Tyrone Strozier of General Dynamics C4 Systems
Rashad Nelson of ITW
International News
NSBE Calendar
Things to Do in Pittsburgh
Cummins Scores Big at NSBE Conferences
Golden Torch Award Winners
The Professional’s Perspective
The Engineering Work Force, 2012 Supply, Demand and Diversity
On the Edge
AE Members on the Move
Employer Profiles
Advertisers Index

NSBE - Conference 2012