MERIT boosts Sussex Central grad to global consulting partner

Early last fall I was at a recruiting event, and a college senior from the Delmarva Peninsula asked how a Sussex County country boy like me was able to become a partner in a consulting firm in Boston.

That question made me smile and pause to reflect for a moment as I thought about how many people played a significant role in my education and professional career. My family, members of my church, countless teachers and coaches, and many friends supported and pushed me along the way.

But one of the most pivotal factors started with a perplexing remark from my mother. It was the last quarter of my eighth-grade school year, and my mother said: “Son, I signed you up for summer school and for a science club that meets one or two Saturdays a month during the school year.”

At the time, I was doing quite well in school, so the thought of summer school had never really entered my mind. And then she said it would be held at Seaford High School. What? The home of the Blue Jays, one of our most fierce athletic rivals? As a Sussex Central Golden Knight to the core, I thought surely my mother was playing a joke on me; this couldn’t be real.

But that summer I joined the MERIT program, which had a clear and noble purpose of introducing the profession of engineering to young minority students who had shown interest in math and science. MERIT stands for Minority Engineering Regional Incentive Training. The program was then sponsored and funded by DuPont, and several employees at the nylon facility in Seaford graciously invested their time and energy to the MERIT program.

Little did I know that at that moment in the summer of 1984, I had started on the opportunity of a lifetime. Over the next eight years, I was a full-fledged member of the MERIT family. I was eagerly attending the summer schools, putting in extra hours to try to help my science club team win engineering competitions, and attending outings ranging from manufacturing locations to Radio City Music Hall to see the Christmas show.

As a direct result of my time with the MERIT program, I was fortunate enough to have several summer internships in the nylon facility and land my first real job at a DuPont facility in central Pennsylvania. I eventually went to graduate school and entered the world of consulting, but to this day, I rely on many of the core foundational pieces that MERIT helped instill in me.

Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself, and you will likely be surprised at what you can do when you put your mind to it. Be open to new things and ideas, listen to others, and see what you might be able to learn. Actively give back as a volunteer or mentor. That summer of 1984, I had the perfect role models in Mr. John Hollis, Mrs. June Soukup, Ms. Geneva Sampson and Mr. Scott David. I aspire to impact others in the same way they inspired me.

So, to that curious college senior I replied, “I had a lot of support and help from friends and loved ones, and was lucky enough to be part of a fantastic science club called MERIT.”