Anthony Belvin: “It is amazing how many changes a product goes through before it goes into production.”

‘I fell in love with engineering when I was eight years old,” says Anthony D. Belvin of Atlanta, GA. “I saw the first launch of the space shuttle Columbia. I always had an affinity for math and science, and I was an avid builder of model rockets and cars. When I saw how math and science are linked with automobiles and rocketry, I was sold.”

After high school, Belvin enrolled in the dual-degree engineering program at Morehouse College and Georgia Tech (Atlanta, GA). In 1997, he earned his BS in general science at Morehouse and a BSME from Georgia Tech.

One of Belvin’s TAs told him about an interesting opportunity for graduate school. GEM (the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc, Notre Dame, IN) works to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities in post-graduate studies in engineering and science.

Study and internships
GEM awarded its first fellowship in 1976. Participants finish summer internships and receive an academic fellowship that covers tuition, fees and a stipend, paid for by one of the company sponsors that work with GEM. Intel, Ford, General Motors, Hewlett-Packard and NASA are long-term, active sponsors; more recently, Agilent Technologies, Merck & Co, Microsoft and Verizon Communications have signed on.

“Currently more than 2,200 GEM masters and PhD alumni work within the science and engineering disciplines in industry and in academic settings,” says GEM’s executive director, Saundra D. Johnson. “More than 87 percent of GEM masters fellows earn their degrees,” she adds with pride.

Students interested in the program don’t need a recommendation to apply. Anyone can visit GEM’s website (www.gemfellowship.org), register and complete the online application in the same timeframe as graduate school applications. As part of their supporting documentation, however, students will need two letters of recommendation from their professors. About 25 percent of the applicants are accepted into the program.

The most important part of the GEM application process, Belvin says, is developing a brief, clear statement of purpose. “It’s basically a way to tell the graduate committee what areas of research interest you and how you plan on making a solid contribution to the field,” he says. “Find a professor or advisor in your area of interest and ask for help writing your statement.”

The masters of engineering fellowship covers full tuition, fees and a stipend for the length of the student’s degree program. The masters of science program covers the same costs for a year or a year plus one semester, which GEM’s administrators feel is enough time to complete such a program. Masters students are expected to work for their sponsoring company the summer before they start the program and the summer after they finish.

Students accepted for a PhD fellowship finish an internship at the sponsoring company before beginning their programs. They then have their first academic year of study paid for and receive a stipend from GEM. The GEM member university covers the cost of additional years of study.

GEM is considered a full-time program, so students typically don’t take an outside job. However the program does offer limited flexibility in extreme cases. Students may receive other partial scholarships and awards. If they do, they cannot accept a full tuition award at the same time.

Opening doors
“GEM has opened doors for me that I might never have reached,” says Belvin, who earned his MSME from Howard University (Washington, DC) in 1999 and is currently enrolled in the doctoral program in ME at Florida A&M University (Tallahassee, FL).

Belvin is also a visiting researcher at Georgia Tech, analyzing damage mechanisms in polycrystalline materials. “I examine crystal orientations within the material,” he explains. “I take this information and try to model this phenomenon using finite element methods.”

In the summer of 2001, Belvin interned in the vehicle crash safety division at Ford Motor Company, his corporate sponsor. He really enjoyed the chance to see “how ideas become reality in the automotive world. It is amazing how many changes a product goes through before it goes into production,” he says.

The work is challenging
Work in technical fields is always challenging. Belvin says, “Being an African American male definitely means that I have to work harder than others. I generally find that I have to work twice as hard as my non-African American counterparts to be considered ‘on equal footing.’” He doesn’t waste time thinking about how hard he has to work, though – he simply gets things done.

And thanks in part to GEM, his hard work is paying off. “I have been able to establish a professional network that I will use for many years to come.”

For the time being, Belvin doesn’t have much free time for building model rockets. He does, however, try to save a little bit of time for another passion: customizing cars. “It’s amazing what you can do with a laptop, a Philips-head screwdriver and a 10mm wrench,” he says.

Reeshemah Burrell made professional and personal contacts through GEM.

Reeshemah Burrell: starting early
Like her colleague, Reeshemah Burrell knew early on that her future was in engineering. “In the sixth grade, I decided I wanted to work in the NASA shuttle program,” she recalls. Growing up in Houston, TX meant that Burrell could take steps to meet her goal. “Over the years, I went to industry days at Johnson Space Center, talked to NASA engineers, and researched what type of degrees NASA accepted.”

Although aerospace engineers were in high demand, Burrell’s father, a mechanical engineer, explained to his daughter that she would have more choices if she followed in his footsteps. Burrell was convinced and enrolled in the dual-degree program at Spelman College (Atlanta, GA) and Georgia Tech. She earned degrees in both mathematics and mechanical engineering in 1997.

“My entire undergraduate education was funded through a NASA scholarship called Women in Science and Engineering (WISE),” she says. The scholarship committee talked to recipients about funding opportunities for graduate research. When Burrell said she wanted to continue her studies, her adviser recommended that she apply to GEM.

Armed with a NASA-sponsored GEM fellowship, Burrell enrolled in the mechanical/materials engineering program at Howard University and earned her masters in 1999. She reapplied to GEM and received a NASA PhD fellowship to begin her doctoral studies in mechanical engineering at Florida A&M University/Florida State University College of Engineering (Tallahassee, FL). She is on track to receive the degree in 2004.

GEM: contacts and relationships
“The best thing about my involvement with GEM has been the professional and personal contacts I’ve made,” says Burrell. “Interning at NASA taught me so much. I still talk to my old supervisors and mentors and let them know what’s going on in my life.”

She says that she also forged deep personal relationships with the GEM staff. “They are like surrogate mothers to me,” she says. “They helped me get through the maze of graduate student life and answered all my funding questions.”

Many people are surprised when they realize how much education Burrell has under her belt. “People look at me and wonder how I could stay in school so long. Time is going to pass, regardless, so you may as well spend it doing something rewarding,” she says. “I tell people to keep their vision close to their hearts and pursue it with vigor.”

“Minorities are less underrepresented in technology today than in the past,” says GEM director Johnson, “but there is still an incredible need for programs like ours. By enriching workforce talent with a diversity of attitudes, perspectives and ideas, we have a direct impact on the value and vitality of the nation’s human capital. Increasing the numbers of Hispanic, African and Native Americans in science and engineering isn’t just good for the individual directly benefiting from a GEM fellowship. Diversity has immeasurable rewards for us all.”

D/C

– Abbi Perets is a freelance writer based in Valley Village, CA.