A New Frontier: Guidance and focus are key for minorities and others in STEM-related fields

It is a smoke-filled moment, tucked away in a soft-lit corner of the Executive Cigar Lounge in Downtown Melbourne. But for several Black engineers who work at L3 Harris, Boeing and other science and tech-based companies, it is a place not only to wind down or talk shop, but to share notes and give guidance.

And right there watching the football game on a big screen TV is Aknesha Miller.

Miller is a graduate of the historically Black college Morgan State University in Maryland and the senior vice president of operations with Arkel International, an international infrastructure and technical services company.

Miller's journey from living with her grandparents back in Maryland to working with a company with global reach illustrates the importance of getting the career guidance and the need to stick with STEM despite the challenges.

“I just happened to have some good people in my life," said Miller. "That plus going to Morgan State was really key, that gave me the foundation for what I learned."

Raised by her grandparents, Miller was initially placed in a special education class until someone recognized that instead of having a disability, she was gifted.

“I would get in fights, wouldn’t pay attention,” said Miller, who later joined MENSA International, the organization for individuals with high IQs. “What was really happening is that I was bored and needed challenges."

Then came the strategic choice of studying tech at a small college — Morgan State — where she could get the attention of the instructors she needed to stay focused. There, Miller learned to thrive by reaching out. Statistics show that a third of all Black engineers graduate from historically Black colleges like Morgan. In 2021, there were 6,153 engineering degrees handed down to Black graduates, a 20.5% increase over the those degrees conferred in 2018, according to the National Society of Black Engineers.

All of it — the schools, the mentors — helped her push forward, including among others who weren’t used to seeing Black faces in tech spaces.

Once, on her first day at L3 Harris — a top defense contractor and high-tech company with headquarters in Melbourne — as the general manager for the F-35 fighter jet Avionics program, a security guard approached her and told her to move her car.

More: Women as an afterthought: Not anymore. Meet KSC's first female chief engineer

“In his defense, he hadn't seen anyone who looked like me there. I had to prove my job,” Miller said, laughing now about the moment.

“I was walking toward the door when the officer said, ‘You can’t park there, that spot is for executives.' I told him, ‘Yes, that’s me.’ All you can do is laugh. There weren't many of us there at that point, but there are now."

It's a story Miller doesn't mind sharing, whether in a cigar lounge or over the phone. Miller stresses the importance of finding mentorship for Blacks and other minorities going into the STEM workforce for that added guidance and relationship building. That means building a rapport, making conversation in a safe space and most importantly, listening.

“The thing we need to do is to have those relationships. When I was at Lockheed, I had a white mentor named Jack Clemons who would come by my desk to check on me,” she said.

“At one point he actually worked on the space shuttle program. His guidance is what got me to the level I am today, most definitely.”

J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter: @JDGallop.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: HBCU grad says Black STEM professionals seek guidance in fields