Being
Prepared Pays Off
Women of Color of Color in Government & Defense
by
Carole I. Smith
Page
2 of 3
Recognized as a Technology Rising Star, Dawnielle Farrar
from Baltimore is an Electrical Engineer at The John Hopkins
University Applied Physics Laboratory. She is currently
working on space applications for NASA at the Goddard
Space Flight Center. And, although young, Dawnielle is
24, the high quality of her work in her two years at John
Hopkins enabled her to work on significant projects, the
most recent of which is the MEMS project. The Micro Electrical
Mechanical System (MEMS) is a demonstration mission to
evaluate a thermal based system which controls the thermal
balance (heat and cold) in a space ship.
Dawnielle
began her higher education at Lincoln University right
outside of Philadelphia, taking advantage of the LASER
program, a unique program which provided her with the
funds to complete her undergraduate education. The Lincoln
Advanced Science and Engineering Reinforcement Program
(LASER) is a 10 week program where the student attends
classes seven (7) days a week, from 7:00 a.m. - 10:00
p.m for 10 consecutive weeks. If the student maintains
a 2.7 or higher grade point average (GPA), they can earn
a year's credit and get 70% or more of their college tuition
paid, depending upon their GPA. As part of this program,
the student is required to transfer to an engineering
college to complete the engineering program in two (2)
years.
On
Saturdays while a LASER student, Dawnielle mentored William
Penn High School LASER students in chemistry and physics.
And, on top of all this, our girl finished her studies
in three (3) years, earning two degrees, one in Electrical
Engineering from the University of Maryland, and one from
Lincoln University, major in Physics and minor in Chemistry.
She did all of this after told by counselors and college
advisors that she couldn't do it, that engineering was
a male field. So, she encourages young people not to be
afraid to spread their wings. If they don't, they'll never
know how high they can fly. And Dawnielle has flown much
higher than many expected her to. She is currently working
on her Master's and intends to ultimately pursue a Ph.D.
Focusing
on educating our youth is a priority for Charlene Mallory,
an Information Technology Management Analyst who works
at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center also. Charlene received
her Technology Rising Star award for implementing a web
development technology module with the SUNBEAMS program.
SUNBEAMS stands for Students United with NASA Becoming
Enthusiastic About Math and Science. Partnering with the
D.C. public schools, the program enabled elementary and
middle school teachers to work with mentors at Goddard
to develop lesson plans in the summer. During the school
year, to support the instructional program, teachers bring
their classes to NASA to expose them to various technologies
and the variety of work their employees undertake. Exposing
students to various career opportunities early in their
education helps them understand that "education pays."
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