非裔美国人校友网络提供 导师、奖学金和社区
83年的比尔·奥斯本和他的朋友们 were so impressed with the 正规的赌博app students they met when they visited campus in 2019, they started the 非裔美国校友 Network Scholarship Fund for fellow African American students.
Although many of those students have graduated and started successful careers, the scholarship and the 非裔美国校友 Network (AAAN) continue to grow.
“It’s gratifying because I think one of the keys to academic success is having that kind of supportive community,奥斯本说.
启动奖学金, 奥斯本和山姆·威尔斯的78年筹款近60美元,在35名非裔美国校友的帮助下. Today, the endowment has helped five students attend Kettering.
但奥斯本表示，仍有工作要做. 他说，他希望看到AAAN更多的参与.
“I would like to see 90% participation because it’s not about how much you give, 它正在帮助我们建立联系和遗产,他说. “What we don’t want is for people to be under the mistaken impression that we’re looking for big dollars. What we’re looking for is participation because it’s bonding with the community.”
除了资助奖学金, the AAAN formed to build a community of mentors for African American students at Kettering. 该组织在5月份举办了一次庆祝活动.
“作为一个团体，我们没有任何正式的活动. We felt it was important for us to establish the bonds because the community has been small groups of people,奥斯本说, “so what’s happened in the past is you get clusters of people from different areas, so we wanted to break down those silos and get people there from every generation.”
Jeremiah 汤普森 ’23 said the event felt like a family reunion.
“It was amazing to see some former students who were upperclassmen when I joined the University and catching up,他说. 与此同时, seeing the older alumni and gaining insight into their thoughts on the current technology world.”
汤普森, 谁主修计算机科学和工业工程, is an Associate Software Engineer at Wells Fargo Technology.
16岁的朗达·克拉克附和汤普森. 克拉克, 谁主修工业工程, 是通用汽车的制造执行工程师. She oversees and manages the installation of manufacturing cells in the GM Truck Body Shops.
“I ended up going by myself, but I met and connected with so many people who were very down-to-earth! It was great to catch up with old friends and meet new alumni who are still excelling at great heights within their careers,”她说。.
The celebration also honored former Mathematics Professor Dr. 大卫·格林，又名 格林医生, 感谢他对凯特林的贡献, Academically Interested Minds (AIM) and the community at the Detroit Golf Club.
格林在这所大学工作了31年. 在那段时间里, 他帮助启动了AIM项目, 经营了七年, 并担任数学和科学系主任. 他于2008年退休.
One of 奥斯本’s favorite memories is commuting to Kettering with Green from East Lansing.
“That was a great experience for me because I got to know him on a completely different level,奥斯本说. “Those conversations in the car with him commuting back and forth were instrumental in improving my academic performance. 他是我伟大的导师.”
毕业后, 奥斯本, 谁主修机械工程, worked for more than 30 years in the automotive industry before becoming the Corporate Director of Quaker Chemical Corp. In 2018, he went to Boeing, where he recently retired as Senior Vice President of Operations.
He said his experience at Kettering put him “miles ahead of his peers.”
“The workload at Kettering was way more difficult than any of my colleagues’ at other universities,奥斯本说.
通过AAAN, he’s seeing current students coming out of Kettering with the same advantage, as he kept in touch with some of the students he met on that trip in 2019.
“I’m really proud of that group because they were just kids when I first met them, 现在, 他们在做伟大的事情,奥斯本说. “... I just feel like I’ve been privileged to see some of these kids really blossom. Not just into great employees and leaders but also great people.”
克拉克 said she plans to become a mentor within the network, too.
“The 非裔美国校友 Network is so important because we need to see the living, tangible examples of successful people in their careers who look like us,”她说。. “代表绝对重要。. 如果你能看到，你就能做到.”
Having benefited from the network, 汤普森 also plans to become a mentor.
“Giving time to the next generation is what inspired me and my success,他说. “我知道其中的价值, now especially since many of my Kettering mentors and friends have my back now and forward. Black students at Kettering deserve that for their chance of success. 这需要一个村庄.”
“The 非裔美国校友 Network is so important because we need to see the living, tangible examples of successful people in their careers who look like us.”
——朗达·克拉克，16岁
要向美国科学促进会奖学金基金捐款，请访问 捐赠.凯特林.edu 或致电(810)762-9759.
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