GEM Student Leadership

Amin R. Holmes
Master's Degree Candidate/Intern
Georgia Institute of Technology/The MITRE Corporation

By Garland L. Thompson

Amin R. Holmes is a prime exponent of the information generation. He grew up with computers, starting out in fifth grade with a machine hooked to his 13-inch TV set, programming it in BASIC. Making low-resolution images flicker across the screen whet his appetite, and he began a lifelong pursuit of skills in information technology.

Completing Tallahassee's Chipley High School with a 3.77 grade point average, he rolled through the electrical engineering curriculum at Florida A&M University, pulling 3.9 grades on the 4.0 scale. He had been Junior Class president and Student Council vice president at Chipley, as well as a messenger for the Florida House of Representatives, and he continued his intense involvement in extracurricular activities at FAMU. Tutoring others through a student volunteer program, Holmes was active in Tau Beta Pi, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the NASA Scholars Association. 
While at FAMU, he also completed internships at NASA, the Harris Corporation, Procter & Gamble, and the MITRE Corporation, winning rave reviews for his organization, drive, and energy.

A winner of the Graduate Engineering for Minorities M.S. Engineering Fellowship and the Georgia Tech President's Fellowship, Holmes is carrying a 3.6 G.P.A. in grad school. He has been an active participant in the Black Graduate Student Association and a volunteer for the FOCUS program to recruit minorities to graduate school.

During two summer internships at MITRE Corp., Holmes provided support to a Telecommunications Systems Engineering Department team developing voice-over-IP and voice-over-ATM technologies to allow MITRE customers to make significant cost reductions while managing multiple exercises at key national locations. His team worked under high-stress, tight-deadline conditions, and Holmes won plaudits as an outstanding young engineer. He distinguished himself further by pushing for opportunities for MITRE's interns and co-ops to meet and network, to maximize the benefits of their experiences. Truly, he's a young man on the move.

Garland L. Thompson is assistant managing editor of The Philadelphia Tribune and a member of the Black Engineer of the Year Awards Selection Panel. He can be reached at GThompson@ccgmag.com.