Alexandria Merritt may have lost a bit of sleep spending her Saturdays being mentored by members of the National Society of Black Engineers St. Louis Gateway chapter, but today the Operations Business manager for General Mills considers the time well spent.
In fact, she hopes to inspire area youth to make the same investment in themselves. Merritt believes that oftentimes students don’t consider science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) because they have little to no exposure to STEM professionals.
NSBE’s Pre-College Initiative Program prepares underrepresented students to successfully matriculate through college and ultimately join the STEM workforce.
“I didn’t know it at the time, but that early exposure, seeing African-American professionals, interacting with real engineers, made me take a look in the mirror and see myself and my possibilities differently,” said Merritt.
Merritt attended a NSBE career fair, which laid the groundwork for her landing an internship at General Mills. She was eventually hired for an entry-level engineering position and earned several promotions. Now she oversees Yoplait Kid and Club products. The Minneapolis transplant is also responsible for leading the implementation of supply chain solutions that transform marketing ideas into safe, high-quality products
She credits NSBE for giving her the foundational skills that she still relies on today – a deep understanding of the practical application of engineering, the importance of teamwork, communications and confidence in one’s ideas.
Merritt, who is a proud graduate of Normandy High School, studied engineering at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley, became an Emerson Scholar and, through a special program offered at the college, studied abroad for a semester in Canterbury, England.
She transferred to the Missouri University of Science and Technology where she completed her Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering. While there, she served as vice president of the local NSBE chapter and regional publications, public relations chair. As a senior, she put her STEM education to work and her design team received a patent for their project for the Bosch-Dremel company. The patents are used today in Bosch’s EZ-Lock technology.
Merritt isn’t ashamed to say that she stands on the shoulders of others. She patterns herself after women who excel in STEM professions, including Jada Reese, former INROADS managing director, and Michelle Price, former electrical engineer at the Olin Corporation.
“NSBE mentors like Dr. Terrence Freeman also inspired me to pursue excellence and persevere in my engineering courses when the curriculum became extremely challenging,” Merritt said.
Normandy School District teachers, including Sharon Hatley and the late Marsha Bandy and Eileen Doyle, also helped to instill in her the belief that she could accomplish anything she put her mind to regardless of the circumstance or environment.
Students interested in applying for the Pre-College Initiative program and those interested in learning more about collaborating with NSBE should visit www.nsbe-stl.org or email pci@nsbe-stl.org for more information.
