Sitting on the board of directors for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) as the National Public Relations Chair, I have several tasks. One is to work out relationships with organizations with interests similar to those of the NSBE. I also devote a lot of time to the fight against breast cancer; I recently raised money by doing the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day -- it's a 60-mile walk. Tiring but very satisfying. When the Navy had an event in San Diego on the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Regan for African American media, I went aboard and learned about the Navy's various scholarships for the ROTC program.

I learn a lot when I do something for others. My NSBE chapter has helped me a lot with learning study skills and habits, and making new friends, and it's also helped me to develop as a professional and a leader. I want to make sure I give back to the people who come into Michigan behind me so they can have the same opportunities I've had.

On the chapter level, I served as NSBE Programs Chair and was responsible for managing the chairs for community service, our chapter's ACT prep class for high-school students and our high-school tutoring program. On a national level I participated in NSBE's first ever Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) in Washington DC. I volunteered my time for three weeks in 2007 to mentor kids and teach them more about science, engineering and math with the SAE's "A World In Motion" curriculum. I worked with mentors from all over the country and world. There were about five mentors per classroom and each classroom had 15 to 20 kids.