Non-Curricular Activities Help African-American Students and Alumni Develop Engineer of 2020 Traits: A Quantitative Look

Abstract

She holds a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in civil engineering and a graduate certificate in engineering education-all from Clemson University. Until 2012, she was the director of the Savannah River Environmental Sciences Field Station. Dr. Simmons has nearly fourteen years of engineering and project management experience working with public utility companies, a project management consulting company, and a software company. She is a registered professional engineer, project management professional and LEED accredited professional.. Her research interests are in investigating students' development of leadership skills and other professional competencies and in student involvement in co-curricular activities. Dr. Simmons is a NSF CAREER award winner for her research entitled, "Investigating Co-Curricular Participation of Students Underrepresented in Engineering." Ms. Glenda Young, Virginia Tech Glenda Young is a PhD student in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. She received a masters of Industrial and Systems Engineering from Auburn University and a bachelors of science in Industrial Engineering from Mississippi State University. Glenda is a Gates Millennium Scholar and her growing research interest include co-curricular involvement, student outcomes, workplace readiness, and diversity.

“They are here to support me”: Community cultural wealth assets and precollege experiences of undergraduate Black men in engineering

“…Engineering education scholars have documented the experiences of Black and African American engineering students and explored the influence of precollege extracurricular engagement on their engineering knowledge and identity (J. P. Martin et al, 2015; Simmons & Martin, 2011; Simmons et al, 2014; Young et al, 2014). A majority of the research on the influence of family members on Black males' success in engineering has centered on postsecondary students' reflections on their precollege experiences.…”

Perceived Importance of Leadership in their Future Careers Relative to Other Foundational, Technical and Professional Skills among Senior Civil Engineering Students

“…The contribution of co-curricular and extracurricular activities to students' leadership knowledge, skills, and attitudes has been previously reported; Ostadalimakhmalbaf and Simmons [32] cited six papers from their literature review that linked student leadership development with participation in professional societies and associated design competitions. More specifically, Simmons et al [33] found that National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) participants reported that participation in the organization was highly influential to developing their leadership traits (mean 3.99 on a scale of 1 to 5); this was the strongest among ten traits and also higher than students reported for participation in minority engineering programs (mean 3.52), while leadership development was similar in fraternities/sororities (mean 3.81).…”

Developing Nontechnical Professional Skills in African American Engineering Majors Through Co-Curricular Activities

“…Initially, African American engineering alumni from U.S. institutions were recruited because of their ability to reflect on how their collegiate experiences have influenced their careers over time [35]. Participants were recruited through the organizations of interest.…”