Greetings! My name is JerNettie Arriel Burney. I am currently a rising sophomore at Elizabeth City Stae University (ECSU) majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Applied Mathematics. In today's society, the use of computers is a must. Learning more technical skills and obtaining research experience will enable me to one day join the industry with other scientists in the development of new technologies and innovoations.

Currently, I am funded through the Center of Excellence for the Remote Sensing Education and Research (CERSER) at ECSU under the advisement of Dr. Linda B. Hayden. I am confident that with the guidance of Dr. Hayden and my mentors such as Je'aime Powell and Kaiem Frink, I will be able to accomplish my future goals. As a member of CERSER, I have the opportunity to apply to internships that pertain to my major. CERSER will help me in the development of the technical skills I will need in order to pursue not only these internships but also my future career.

During the 2008-2009 school year, I was enlisted as a member of the Water Quality Team. The title of our research project was, "A Study of pH, Salinity, and Clarity of Water Samples from Various Locations around the World". The team took different samples from around the world to test, record, and compare the results of the testing to other water samples that have been studied. The team stored the data in an inventory to be saved for future Water Quality Teams to continue the testing of other water samples in a Microsoft Excel worksheet. This worksheet listed the type of water sample it is, where it was collected, who it was collected by, the latitude and longitude, and if there were any visual aids, it was also included. Through the project, we found that various water samples from out of the country have a high amount of pH, hardness, etc.

After graduating with my Bachelors Degree in Computer Science from ECSU, I want to pursue a Master's Degree and then obtain my Ph.D. After I receive my Ph.D. I would like to pursue a career in computer software engineering. It is certain however that my experiences at ECSU and my training in CERSER will surely prepare me for whatever career I decide to engage in. When I finally reach my goal, I will be able to come back to CERSER and tell future students about my achievements and that anything is possible if the student wants it bad enough.

I believe it is important to tell students that will be in the same position that I'm in today that they are needed in the workforce, especially in the science field since it is one of the most underrepresented areas for African-Americans to be involved with. Even though this area doesn't have many minorities in it, it would make a huge difference if children are told why they should participate in it and it is not all about sitting in lab all day trying to formulate equations or figuring out how to construct a supercomputer. They are needed and I feel that if they are told about what the science field requires at a early age, then we will be able to pull more minorities into the science field.