Three National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science (GEM) fellows are spending their summer contributing to and learning from ETS. GEM was established in 1976 to address the critical shortfall in new American engineering and scientific talent.
Over the past three decades, the organization has helped thousands of graduates from ethnic groups historically underrepresented in the engineering, physical science and life science disciplines overcome one of the most pervasive barriers to pursuing an advanced degree: identifying and securing funding for graduate education. GEM strives to connect those underrepresented post-graduate science and engineering students by promoting partnerships among universities, research institutions and companies like ETS.
ETS has been active in GEM for several years. In 2002–2003, President Kurt Landgraf served as President of GEM. Currently, three ETSers take an active role:
Chief Administrative Officer and Senior Vice President of People, Process and Communications Yvette Donado serves as GEM’s Vice President of Human Resources
Marketing & Public Affairs Strategic Alliances Executive Frank Gómez chairs the Marketing Committee Strategic Workforce Solutions Senior Diversity Consultant Lew Shumaker chairs the Fellowship Selection Committee.
The 2009 ETS GEMs
Kari L. Brown
Mentored by NAEP Executive Director Jay Campbell, National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) National Secretary Kari L. Brown is spending her summer working with the NAEP team at ETS.
Brown received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan. Her undergraduate honors and awards include National Dean’s List and National Scholars Honor Society. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, also at Michigan Tech, and is making progress toward a Graduate Certificate in Sustainability. Brown spends her time as an Engineering Education research assistant at Michigan Tech.
So far, Brown says, the internship has been rewarding.
Leia Bispham
Leia Bispham is working on the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Team in Scoring, Reporting & Technology (SR&T), under the tutelage of Gary Driscoll, Executive Director of the Scoring Center of Excellence, Consultant Mary Ellen Ferrara and IT Architect Asaf Ronen.
Bispham received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Science from Columbia University in the city of New York. She has earned many academic honors and awards including the John W. Kluge Scholarship, the Goldman Sachs Scholarship for Excellence and the Columbia University Computer Science Department’s Russell C. Mills Award. After completing her internship with ETS, she will pursue a Master’s degree in Information Systems Management from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
“My summer with the SDLC team at ETS has been the perfect complement to my education, as I was able to witness a company making broad, far-reaching changes to its infrastructure and to be a part of this effort,” Bispham says.
Vanesha Williams
Vanesha Williams is spending her summer working with Julie Cain, Director of Information & Technology Risk Management in Scoring, Reporting & Technology (SR&T).
Williams graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi. Her honors and awards include American Association for Blacks in Energy Scholar, Tougaloo College Presidential Scholar and Ratheon Scholarship. Williams will be attending Mississippi State University this fall to pursue a Ph.D. in Computer Science.
Interning in the IT Risk Management department has helped her “learn a lot about the governance side of IT,” which Williams says will be beneficial to her work in the Information Security field.
