An astronaut, Cookie, soror and Gma planted the seed that produced a young, gifted and successful African-American female engineer.
Jasmine Marie Bitanga was inspired and guided on her life’s journey by an astronaut, Dr. Mae Jemison, first African-American woman in space; her aunt Cookie, who instilled the importance of time management and how to use time wisely; a soror who served as a mentor and taught her the importance of paying it forward and living a purpose-driven life, and Gma, her late grandmother, who taught Bitanga the value of education and integrated math and science in her everyday life.
Bitanga discovered the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) in 2013. She gained valuable experiences through NSBE activities and attended the 2014 NSBE convention. She was so motivated by her participation with NSBE that she wanted to share it with other college students.
Impressed and inspired, she co-founded a NSBE chapter at Saint Louis University – Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering, with a minor in Engineering Mathematics.
Bitanga reflects on the days when she was six or seven years old and her Gma would teach her about the components of a microscope and the differences between an animal cell and plant cell. This is where her interest in STEM began. It’s that interest that has led her to a career in engineering.
She began her career as a manufacturing engineer, but just recently accepted a job as a Quality Assurance Engineer for United Technologies Corporation Aerospace Systems. Although she’s still adjusting to her new job and to sunny California, she’s considering furthering her education by earning a MBA.
Bitanga loves her career as an engineer and would encourage parents to expose their children to STEM education. “A STEM education may be challenging, but by cultivating a passion for STEM, you can boost a young child’s self-esteem and develop ambition,” she said.
She is a proud product of that sentiment. Bitanga is grateful to Gma, her grandmother for exposing her to lessons of STEM, to Dr. Jemison, an astronaut, who inspired her, to Cookie, her aunt who modeled how to stay focused, and her Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority sister who mentored her and taught life lessons like to pay it forward.
Bitanga wants to give back to her community. Although she believes NSBE has touched many lives in St. Louis, there are many opportunities to keep pushing the mission. She hopes to see more youth outreach that will instill the value of education. She plans to be a play a big role in pursuit of that goal.
“Jasmine graduated with her associate degree in math at the age of 17 and then started an engineering program,” said Ronald Moore, Pre College Director for NSBE – St. Louis.
“She is a model for many students to follow. She is very wise for her years, she is confident in her abilities and beliefs. I expect Jazz to reach the highest levels of success in any endeavor she chooses.”
To learn about NSBE’s youth program, please visit nsbe-stl.org (local) or nsbe.org (national).
