NSBE - Convention 2018 - 38

MARCH 21-25, 2018 * PITTSBURGH, PA.

NATIONAL
A
SOCIETY OF BLACK ENGINEERS

IGNITE * IMAGINE * INNOVATE

Golden Torch Honorees
CI-NSBE Jr./TCUL Girls Who Code Club, with the goal of bridging the gender
gap in computer science careers. He has also mentored chapter members
and connected them to local engineering competitions.
Horton feels it is important for students to develop key life skills, and he
seeks to accomplish that by chapter workshops on topics such as resume
prep, elevator speech development and dining etiquette. He believes we
should not only have students engage with STEM but also teach them the
soft skills necessary to thrive.

Pre-College Initiative Program of the Year
Martinsville/Henry County NSBE Jr. Chapter
The Martinsville/Henry County National Society of Black Engineers
Chapter was chartered in 1999 and was the first NSBE Jr. chapter established in Virginia. The chapter membership has a 100 percent graduation
rate from high school, and every student member has enrolled in college
or enlisted in the military. This academic organization has high standards,
instilling in its students the value of giving back to the community. The members are on a merit system that requires the students to earn 600 points
to be eligible to attend NSBE's Annual Convention. The points are earned
by maintaining a GPA of 3.0 or above and by taking leadership positions in
other organizations and in the community.
Beginning with 32 students in 1999, Martinsville/Henry County NSBE Jr.
has grown to 150 students in high school, middle school and elementary
school. Members are visible in the community, volunteering with organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club, Virginia Museum of Natural History,
Piedmont Arts, Grace Network and local churches. The chapter also
presents a biomedical competition each year, educating the community
about diseases that plague its community and recruiting local doctors to
judge the competition. Members travel to Virginia Tech, North Carolina A&T
State University, Danville Community College, Patrick Henry Community
College, New College Institute and The Institute for Advanced Learning and
Research to participate in STEM programs. Students from the chapter have
also been invited to the SAE Government/Industry Meeting in Washington,
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NSBE MAGAZINE * CONVENTION 2018

D.C., to build prototypes to present to engineers from around the world.
Many students in the chapter serve on the Youth Harvest Foundation Board,
awarding thousands of dollars each year to projects designed to improve
the community. In addition, students are involved in local, state and national
politics, and their organization has become an integral part of local academic
programming.
Professional Member of the Year
Sierra S. Williams
Systems Engineer
Department of Navy Space and Naval Warfare
System Center Atlantic
Sierra Williams has completed her fourth year of
employment with the Department of the Navy, where she has worked as an
engineer for both surface ships and submarines. Williams is a 2007 graduate of Claflin University, where she received her Bachelor of Science in computer engineering. She came to the university's Alice Carson Tisdale Honors
College as a Presidential Scholar, an honor she received because of her
stellar academic record in high school and her extracurricular involvement.
Based on her academic excellence at Claflin and her participation in summer
internship programs, Williams received a fellowship from the National GEM
Consortium to enter the Master of Science in computer engineering program
at Clemson University, where she graduated in August 2009.
Williams was an employee of Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems
before joining the Department of the Navy. There, she had the opportunity to
rotate throughout the company to gain experience in different areas, including Test Engineering, System Supportability and System Security. Previously,
as an intern at Lexmark International for two summers, in Lexington, Ky., she
gained experience in the company's Firmware/Connectivity and Strategic
Quality Excellence Departments.
Williams has held several leadership positions with the National Society of
Black Engineers. She is the current president of the Charleston Professionals
NSBE Chapter and has served as an officer for the Society's Baltimore
Professionals and Claflin University chapters.
Williams' long-term goal is to contribute to increasing the number of
African Americans in STEM fields by working closely with organizations
such as NSBE and with local STEM professionals, growing the confidence of
young women for a life of success. ■

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