Kaiem Frink - FOCUS 2007 Trip Report
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The Focus conference invites undergraduates to join and celebrate sixteen years of embracing diversity in graduate school. Focus was launched in 1991. Focus is recognized as a model program in identifying, enlightening, and attracting the finest underrepresented students and encouraging them to pursue graduate degrees. Focus has a record of excellence in success in helping minority students through out the nation in awarding graduate engineering degrees to minority students as well as programs that will attract and nurture highly qualified women students. Focus has hosted over 3,000 students from more than 100 universities over the past fifth teen years.

On January 11, 2007 Elizabeth City State University and the Center of Excellence in Remote Sensing Education and Research (CERSER) was represented at the Focus Conference by undergraduate Computer Science Junior Kaiem L. Frink with a minor in Geographical Information Systems. The Focus Conference was held at Georgia Tech University in Atlanta Georgia. The objective of FOCUS was to encourage prospective undergraduate’s students to consider Georgia Tech in their graduate school options. The Focus conference encourages minority students to continue their education beyond a Bachelor Degree.

Thursday January 11, 2006-There was over twenty universities in attendance at the Focus conference with various fields of studies while each area was related to either closely related to Math, Science, Technology and Engineering. That night there was a dinner held by the Black Graduate Student Association of Georgia Tech, which this night encourage students to wear their current college memorabilia. I choose to represent Elizabeth City State University by wearing a small Elizabeth City State University Pin on my sweater. I was totally surprised when I seen undergraduate’s students come to a formal dinner with sneakers, T-shirts, Do-rags and talking on cell phones. Then to find out the universities they attended allows me to be truly appreciative of being a product of Elizabeth City State University The small but well respected HBCU. The guest speaker for Focus 2007 was Dr. Calvin Mackie, of Channel Zero. Dr. Mackie speech lasted for forty minutes. I manage to record thirty minutes of presentation. (Mackie speech is on the Mac server in Lester Hall Room 114 that is connected to the Flat Screen LCD) Dr. Mackie said to obtain a Masters and a Ph.D. you must have “The Will not the Skill”. When Dr. Mackie said that saying, I recalled a time conversing with Dr. Linda B. Hayden my undergraduate Academic Advisor. We were conversing in regards to graduation from ECSU she informed me that I must be committed not dedicated. Dr. Mackie then went on to say that “Too many of us have quit” Dr. Mackie then informs the audience that how he earned three degrees in seven years. He had a discrepancy with a professor and he informed Dr. Haley (Focus Director) and Haley asked, “What would you like me to do? Dr. Mackie said nothing not until I get my grade.” Mackie then went on to we must not allow anyone to put “Abortion on our dreams” whether it’s friends or family we strive for excellence and ask this constant question “What are you going to change?”

Dr. Mackie went on to tell how he was an excellence athlete and then encountered a career ending injury. He said why is that we always want to be the basketball player as oppose to the owner “Can you dream that dream to own your own NBA team?” Dr. Mackie then went on to say that as long a we have those athletic uniforms with those helmets on and scoring a lot of points while winning a lot of championships and entertaining them then it’s not problem. The problem comes when we do not want to be the Athlete any longer, we would now like to be the owner. We do not want to be the entertainer anymore we want to be that Doctor, Lawyers, Astronauts, Mathematicians, Computer Scientist etc. We want and deserve more than for us to be some dam form of entertainment! Dr. Mackie then went on to say the worst thing in life is to “See the woman or the man that you wanted to be”. “Free may be the most expensive thing you have” just as “graduate school is free” If you have to pay for graduate school then find another graduate program. Dr. Mackie encountered some family issues while in pursuit of Ph.D. “Nothing will prepare you to watch the undertaker to remove your mother from your house.” Then two day later his father died. In three days he attended his Mother and Father Funeral while the next morning he was the guest speaker at his little brother High School graduation. All this took place while during the last few months of his Ph.D. program and he acknowledge Georgia Tech and The Black Student Association for how they helped him through this endeavor. Dr. Mackie then went on to mention what a person wants. I think that everyone wants to be in a situation where you can provide for your self. Mackie then when on to recite lyrics from a song “Back then they didn’t want me now that I’m hot they are all on me!”

“Texas instruments had five representatives in attendance I was conversing with a Georgia Tech Alum who was a Texas Instruments Representative who recently obtain there Masters and he said that it ‘s a Transition is in your mind that’s all graduate school is, just as the High School to college transition. A master’s makes you a specialist and a Ph.D. makes you an expert in your field of study.

Friday, January 12-Prospective students were shuttled to the student center for breakfast and the Academic Departments visit. I toured the Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering session and Department visit. The department consisted of forty faculty members in the department there were twenty-two Asian Professors, Four African American, Four women and ten other faculty members in the department. The cheer of the Department came and talked to audience for about five minutes with a brief slide show and left directly after his presentation. After twenty years in the Engineering department in her first year as Associate Vice cheer for the Engineering Department. She showed a very basic slide show, which gave suggestion on how to compose a professional statement “I plan to study”, “My goals are to”, “Ultimate Degrees desired”, “Particular field of study”, “Industry” or “Academic Research”. Are some good phrases that may be included in your professional statement.

The President Dinner consisted of forty tables with eight people per table. The speaker was Jim Stallings of IBM Corporation. Stallings a slim, tall African American Male in his late forty’s went on to deliver his speech on how foreigners have brought the world together. Foreigners have literally flattened the globe. Stalling said Patent your ideas because in IBM there is a chat room called Wish Think. Which is a place where all employees and customers can propose their new and innovative ideas. Stallings attended a business meeting in China to deal with various large-scale computer orientated corporations. Stallings then went on to give the example on how America could barley get 20,000 students to participate in a National Science Fair. When he went to China they had over a million applicants for there National Science fair and there are only 50,000 slots available students. Then Stallings went on to discuss Cultural Differences something’s that my era and time period will have to deal with especially with Religion, Culture, Gender and Size. Stalling went on to say when participating in Team Building be yourself as well as being global minded with the global community. Foreigners want your jobs so make sure you get to the next level and don’t accept less. Show up in letters with names on your behalf behind you name. Make sure you understand the business, putting the money in the money in the bank. It’s not the Elephant that going to kill you because you can see them. It’s the nets that kill you and that create the problems. Then he went on to conclude with a statement of get online and apply for an IBM position. Stalling received an award then exits the room directly after his award. I was unable to capture a picture with Jim Stallings of IBM.

Saturday January 13-This early morning session at 8:00AM was conducted by Sundiata Jangha a Candiate of Ph.D. from Georgia Tech. Jangha began his session with Who What When Where Why. Jangha Begun telling us how he graduate with his Bachelor and went into industry as a computer consultant in Idaho Jangha was one of five minorities out of two hundred and forty employees at this consulting firm. The other minority employees consisted of one Spanish, one Jamaican, and two Asians. Jangha would tell how a bachelor is no longer acceptable he would see people in the company get laid of with just a bachelor Degree. Being laid off from his job encouraged him to return to school to obtain his Ph.D. When he returned to school Jangha had a decision to make between an advisor or a project. Jangha purpose of returning to school was to get in and to get out. In his instance he had pick a good advisor. As oppose to his friend had an awful advisor where the friend’s advisor wanted to keep him around so that he could run the advisor lab since he was such a good student worker in the research lab. He then went on to tell how a guy in Graduate school defended his thesis five times and then killed the panel. It was on the news how it was one big setup and the guy was sent to an insane hospital. Make sure you graduate school is a livable environment for yourself and you have to have the three A’s Alliance Advisor and Advocate make sure that they are three different people and the advocate can get into the places where you can not get into. Faculty will take you on but do not want you to succeed.

Advocate is someone who can speak on your behalf who can get in the rooms you cannot. You are not in the position to disagree. Then make sure you have the Three D’s Discipline, Diligence and Dedication Being able to do what you don’t want to do. He has seen people fudge the numbers by making up entire project and experiments. When he would be in the lab the advisor took all the clocks out and the lab had no windows. The worst thing in life is to see the life that you could have had. It’s all about choices: remember that someone helped you so make sure that you help the youth. When Tupac died he was worth $10,000.00 with a one million dollars in debt that why his mother keeps on releasing all these CD’s.