February 24, 2021 | Interviews by Candler Hobbs and Ben Wright

In recognition of Black History Month, we sat down with four members of the Woodruff School to talk about their experiences both personally and professionally. They share their thoughts on their role models, experiences that have shaped them, and how we can continue to better champion the importance of diversity at Georgia Tech and in our personal lives. Dr. Samuel Graham is the Eugene C. Gwaltney, Jr. School Chair and professor for the Woodruff School, Melody Foster is a unit administrative officer, Mack Curtis is an academic assistant in the Office of Student Services, and Rahmel Bailey is a fourth year student from Brooklyn, New York. 

Can you tell us about an early experience that influenced you personally or professionally?

Graham:
My parents didn’t go to college, so I am a first-generation college student. My parents grew up in South Carolina, and their way out of the rural south was my dad joining the military. As we grew up moving around the world as a military family, my parents instilled in us hard work and a lot of core values that stick with me today. So, a lot of the things that you see me do and how I behave are a result of what I learned from my parents. And I think that has served me well — the discipline that I have in terms of how to approach things.

My parents gave me opportunities that they didn’t have growing up in the rural south. There were things that my siblings and I had to do growing up that probably most other kids had to do in terms of work around the house, but I had the time to focus on school in a way that my parents probably didn’t have growing up on a farm. And with my dad serving in the military, I got a chance to see a lot of high-tech equipment, which sparked this curiosity for mechanical things. In high school, I attended a summer camp at the University of South Carolina, and two summer camps at Clemson University that introduced me to this thing called ‘engineering.’ I didn’t even really know what engineering was, but I did know that they covered some topics that I was curious about, and it was a way to visit a college campus for a couple of weeks while in high school. By the time I did the second summer camp at Clemson, I knew engineering was what I wanted to do, and I knew that it was going to be mechanical engineering. I have four siblings, and luckily, all of us were able to go to college and do quite well. All of us were instilled with the same work ethic by my parents, even though they did not go to college.

Once I got into college, I continued to do internships — partially because my parents didn’t have a lot of money to send me to school, so I had to make money, and internships are a great way to do it. I did two internships at Pratt and Whitney, and then went to a few other companies, and I just really began to understand what was going on in various sectors of engineering. I also worked in a research lab as an undergrad because it was fun doing a lot of experimental testing and learning more about ME. I think those were early influences for really grounding me.

Foster:
When I was in high school, I wanted to be a teacher. But my counselor was like, ‘No, you’re more business oriented. You should go into the field of business or accounting or something like that.’ So, I listened to what he had to say and enrolled into college as a business major. While in college, I worked at a company where they allowed me to restructure the office. My office manager was awesome. She told me that I had a knack for organizing and getting people to do what I needed them to do. She allowed me to use the skills I was learning in school. We also streamlined how tasks were handled. She helped me understand that I’m good at leading people. She also helped me to understand that accounting really wasn’t for me, and that I needed to find out what I wanted to do. So, I kind of fell into my field that way.

Curtis:
One early experience that influenced me personally was in my first week of undergrad. I packed my life up in a box and took a long 24-hour Greyhound bus ride from Chicago to Petersburg, Virginia. When I arrived to campus, it was so beautiful. I could smell the opportunity in the air! That feeling was short lived. As a first-generation college student, I found out the hard way the importance of making sure you have your financial aid package straight with the financial aid department. I was a bit short on a few fees and I was hard pressed for cash.

Day two and three on campus, I found myself going from office to office trying to find solutions to my issue. Day four is when this experience influenced me personally. After another long unsuccessful day trying to fulfill the rest of my tuition payment, I was greeted with a letter on my room door. It was bright yellow. I like yellow, but this letter was devastating to my eye. The letter basically told me that I had one day to fulfill my payment or I would find my things (my life in that one box!) out front, and that I would have to turn over my room keys. I cried that night on my twin bed that had no sheets. I recall thinking to myself, “Did I give my all in four years of high school just to experience four days of college?” It was that question to myself that lit a fire inside me. I couldn’t fathom going back home to the streets of Chicago. I knew I was in the right place at the right time.

The day after receiving the letter, I went to the financial aid department and sold myself like never before. I guaranteed that I would graduate on time if they gave me a shot. They heard me out and rewarded me with a scholarship, and work study position. I rewarded their kind risk by graduating on time with honors. I learned to never give up. Even if defeat seems eminent, never give up!

Bailey: 
I’m from Brooklyn, New York and I was accepted into one of the top high schools in New York City. There was a lack of diversity there which was a culture shift coming from my previous school that was predominately of color.

When I was a freshman Black History Month started and nobody said anything or did anything. It wasn’t mentioned. There was no recognition at all. I went to one of the few Black teachers and said, “We need to do something about this.”

We ended up starting a Black Student Union, with the purpose of serving as a space for Black students to celebrate their culture and put on events.

So starting that organization was big for me. It was the first times that I had to step up professionally, run an organization and be a leader. That led to me getting involved in other forms of student government at my school and throughout the city. 

I was on one council with about 30 students and we helped create initiatives for 1.1 million students in New York City. I ended up being elected the president of my school. A short documentary was made about me and my teacher starting the Black Student Union and the impact that we had. 

At Tech I’ve been involved in NSBE, AASU, but most recently I’ve gotten into something else. I was the marketing director for Startup Exchange for a while early in my time at Tech. I’m passionate about entrepreneurship and once again I saw a need for Black students to come together. We started an organization called The Black Market to support Black students interested in entrepreneurship. The other founders are India Godfrey, Princeton Henry, Corey Beasley, and Kiandra Peart, who is also a mechanical engineering major.

So far we have collaborated with Create-X to expose students to their programs and have invited entrepreneur guest speaks like Vernell Woods, a GT alumna and founder of Moolah Mobile. We have a lot more in store to get students of color involved in the entrepreneurship community on campus. 

Is there someone you view as a major role model in your life?

Graham:
Dr. Namas Chandra, the faculty member I worked for at FAMU-FSU in undergrad would definitely be one of my role models. And then when I got to Tech for graduate school, my advisor, David McDowell was phenomenal in terms of believing in me, teaching me, and giving me guidance to grow professionally. In terms of being African American, coming to grad school where there weren’t many people like me, I would say Gary May had a tremendous influence on me. Learning from Dr. May was inspiring and made me want to emulate the way he did things with excellence. As a faculty member, Seth Marder and Bernard Kippelen were excellent early role models that helped me to expand my research into new areas. At various stages along my journey, these people made me believe that as a young African American, being an engineer and a faculty member was something that I could do and be successful.

I would also say that peer-to-peer mentoring was just as significant for me during my graduate studies at Tech. Calvin Mackie, Johnny Green, Stacey Dixon, and Angela Birkes all were influential during my time at Georgia Tech. Their successes would influence me, and I would turn around and influence them. I think these cohorts of fellow students that you develop are so important, because the faculty can’t always be there for every step that you take.

Foster:
My parents were my first and strongest role models. They taught me everything I know. They taught me the importance of keeping my word, being faithful to who I am, no matter what comes at me in life, and remembering who I am. My parents were not able to go to college. But they made it their business that my siblings and I, graduate from high school and attend college or trade school in whatever field we wanted to do. They’ve always encouraged us and continue to this day (my father passed away, but my mom is still here).

I’ve also had three people that have served as professional role models for me at Georgia Tech. The first one is Melinda Wilson. She used to be over our admin team in the Woodruff School. Melinda had worked at Georgia Tech for about 20 years at the time and retired with 36 years of service. She took me in from the day I started working as a front desk person, and she trained me to do things the Georgia Tech way. She showed me how things were done. If I had questions, she would answer them. And she was my biggest supporter. She’s retired now, but we still keep in touch and she continues to support me.

My second one is Ward Winer. He was my former supervisor as ME school chair. He was the one who told me that I no longer was going to work at the front desk, that I needed to move out of that comfort zone and move into something that was challenging and would make me more active in the school. He didn’t take no for an answer. I laugh about this now because I said ‘no’ several times. He said, ‘Go apply for the job!’ He mentored me and pushed me to be better. Although he’s been retired for 14 years now, we still keep in touch, and he still checks on me to make sure that everything is going well.

And my final role model is LaJauna Ellis. She has encouraged me to pursue job opportunities and to grow in my position. And even now, if I need anything such as advice or encouragement, I can always call her. She’s always been there. I think it’s important that you have people like that around you when you’re working. Because you need that, from time to time…no questions, they’re just there to encourage you and support you.

Curtis:
My big sister for sure! She set the bar very high. Her thoughtful intelligence is admirable. I witnessed her become the first homeowner of the family in generations. It still amazes me. Thanks to her things were less difficulty for me, because I only had to follow her example. I love how humble she is. Always calm, well intended, and immensely determined. She is the one transcendent figure in my life whom I’m forever grateful to learn from, and thrive with.