The 2021 Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) Science, Technology, Engineer, and Math (STEM) event is the only STEM event with an Army-wide synchronized and coordinated focus. Participation in the BEYA STEM event promotes interest in the Army and increases awareness of the Army as a viable employer of choice.
The BEYA STEM Community, over 10,000 strong, offers K-12 students, college students, corporate, government, military, business, and industry employers three days of learning, networking, and celebrating excellence. It also educates a national audience on the connection between STEM-related professional opportunities and the Army, while recognizing leaders for their contributions and accomplishments in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
This year, the three-day virtual BEYA STEM event included seminars and workshops, a tribute to black service in the military, a career fair, mentoring sessions with Army senior leaders, and a gala awards ceremony. Sudan Abdur-Rahman, a Joint Munitions Command engineer, was selected for the 2021 BEYA Science Spectrum Trailblazer award. The Science Spectrum Trailblazer is awarded to minority personnel actively creating new paths for others in science, research, technology, and development. Abdur-Rahman distinguished himself by consistently setting his sights higher, striving to innovate, and opening doors and opportunities for others. Along with other award recipients, Abdur-Rahman was recognized during this year’s virtual event.
“I am honored to have been nominated and selected for the 2021 BEYA Science Spectrum Trailblazer award, and I am thrilled to have attended the event virtually in hopes of passing on my engineering passion to others,” said Abdur-Rahman.
Staff from HQ, JMC Human Resources and this year’s award winner, Abdur-Rahman participated in the BEYA STEM career fair. They shared information about the many career options as a Department of Defense Civilian, how to submit resumes and search for careers on usajobs.gov, and the many benefits of a career with JMC.
In addition to the BEYA STEM career fairs, HQ, JMC G1 participated in several Historical Black College and University (HBCU) career fairs to continue reaching qualified candidates for STEM positions within the JMC enterprise.
Lori McFate, JMC Public Affairs specialist, met with students from Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (AAMU) on Feb. 4, 2021 to share information about the JMC mission and core competencies, and discuss JMC’s Organic Industrial Base, in hopes of drawing interest to a career with the JMC enterprise.
“It was a great opportunity to share the important munitions work the JMC team does with students interested in working as Department of the Army Civilians; one participant will graduate in May with a mechanical engineering degree and was encouraged to submit a resume,” said McFate. AAMU career fair participants also had the opportunity to discuss the application process with a human resource specialist or schedule one-on-one meetings to learn more about finding careers on usajobs.gov or the JMC hiring process.
JoEtta Fisher, Senior Executive Service, executive director for ammunition and deputy to the JMC commander, attended the virtual event and hosted a mentoring session with students. She provided an overview of the JMC mission and talked about how she started her career a Department of the Army intern while in high school. Fisher explained to the students the many opportunities within Army and DoD to serve our county as Civilians, without joining the military. “The annual BEYA STEM event is an important event for the Army, JMC, and Army Materiel Command (JMC’s higher headquarters), as we strive to recruit new talent to support the munitions work we do for the Joint Warfighter,” said Fisher.
This year was the 35th Anniversary of the BEYA STE event; due to #Covid19 restrictions it was held virtually. To view any of the individual BEYA STEM events, visit the BEYA Facebook page for the links.
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