To mark National Graduate & Professional Student Appreciation Week (April 1-5, 2019), USBE online is celebrating the contributions of students who were nominated for awards at the Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Conference this February.

Student Leadership awards recognize an undergraduate or graduate student with inspiring grades and a desire to help others to succeed. Awards are granted separately for student leadership as undergraduates and as graduate students.

First up was Crystal Green, a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan, and 2019 Black Engineer of the Year – Student Leadership Award winner. She successfully defended her thesis March 19 at the University of Michigan

Also a lead instructor with the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP), Green taught high school students about nuclear engineering while working on her doctoral degree in nuclear engineering and radiological sciences.

This year, the GEM Student Leadership Award, given at the BEYA STEM Conference, went to Coast Guard Officer Trainee Camarie Rogers, who is in the  Coast Guard’s College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative (CSPI). The CSPI is a scholarship program designed for individuals who demonstrate academic and leadership excellence and who desire to serve their country in the United States Coast Guard.

The GEM Student Leadership Award at the 2019 BEYA STEM Conference was presented by Rear Admiral W. Kelly, assistant commandant for human resources in the Coast Guard, during the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Engineering Deans Power Breakfast.

Kelly said Camarie’s “passion for service, giving, and love for others encouraged her to begin her own scholarship foundation, providing support for underprivileged high school students pursuing a degree in the STEM field.”

Camarie’s scholarship fund awarded two $500 scholarships to deserving college-bound graduates from her high school in Virginia Beach.

She was selected for a Coast Guard College Student Pre-commissioning Initiative scholarship as a sophomore at Hampton University. She has also maintained a list of active leadership roles, including Wm. R. Harvey Presidential Fellow, Queen Mentoring Program, Trio Mentor Program, National Council of Negro Women chaplain, Women’s Prayer Circle founder, varsity lacrosse team manager and more.

As an Officer Trainee in the Coast Guard, Camarie has made presentations to flag and senior Coast Guard Officers on promoting ways to increase diversity and including females within the service.  She has inspired a number of others to join programs like the National Naval Officers Association, where she was voted into the position of the Tidewater chapter’s Professional Military Education coordinator.

This year’s BEYA STEM Conference allowed the Coast Guard to showcase their engineering STEM talent during seminars, as well as Coast Guard engineering careers and scholarships, the Coast Guard said.