When she learned about the Sprint scholarship program, she applied. She was accepted and enrolled at Longview Community College. Kennedy worked at Sprint each summer, learning what it's like to work with engineers, and saving money for her room and board once she moved to Rolla. Although she's focusing on final exams, Kennedy said she is already getting excited about her new job. Dan Justice, head of the engineering program for the Metropolitan Community Colleges, said he believes in developing a racially diverse work force.
Engineering is a creative process.
If everyone's a white male, you get a lot less range of ideas presented than if you have all sorts of people. Diversity is valuable in and of itself. Vest shares Justice's view. It has traditionally been hard to do that because minorities have not always been attracted to the engineering field. Part of that is preparation in the high schools.