Two Bagley students receive national fellowships
May 2, 2016
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Two Bagley College students received full fellowships from a national consortium to pursue continued education in engineering.
Both Maya Luster and Fantasi Curry received full GEM fellowships applicable to the graduate school of their choosing. The fellowship will go cover the expense of their education and place them in two internships over the course of their education.
Luster, an electrical engineering major, graduated in December of 2015 and will be attending Rochester Institute of Technology in Henrietta, New York, in the industrial and systems engineering graduate program.
Curry will graduate in May of 2016 with a degree in industrial engineering and will pursue a master’s degree from Auburn University’s industrial and systems engineering graduate program in Auburn, Alabama.
Luster and Curry both said they are very thankful to have this opportunity and look forward to beginning the program. Both expressed that the fellowship allowed them to choose a school based on its quality of program without limiting her options because of finances.
Luster stated receiving the fellowship was a huge benefit to her future because without it she would have been burdened with the expenses of graduate school.
“It is an absolute honor to be selected as a full GEM Fellow,” Luster said. “This fellowship opens up so many opportunities for me. The most important, I feel, is the ability to earn my master’s degree free of cost.”
Curry echoed her sentiments, emphasizing the opportunities that the fellowship will open for her.
“I will be able to focus on bettering my life and the lives of those around me without having to accrue debt,” said Curry. “I am blessed to have received the GEM Fellowship.”
As part of the fellowship, Luster and Curry will intern with two companies. Both will begin their first placement with Ford Motor Company in Michigan beginning this summer.
“One of the stipulations of the GEM Fellowship is to have a company sponsorship. After an extensive application process, I was selected to be a Manufacture Engineering intern with Ford,” Luster said.
Both feel that they are prepared to enter the master’s programs and internships thanks to the support and guidance of Bagley faculty and staff. In college, they participated in programs like Summer Bridge and undergraduate research. Both women were members of the National Society of Black Engineers and were involved with IMAGE. Curry interned at ThyssenKrupp Elevators, while Luster, a member of the Engineering Student Council, conducted undergraduate research at MSU’s CAVS and spent time at Georgia Power through MSU’s co-op program. Both believe these programs and organizations helped set them apart during the fellowship selection process.
“I am very grateful to the Bagley College of Engineering for helping me gain the skills and knowledge I needed to achieve this scholastic accomplishment,” Curry said.
The GEM fellowship program encourages the pursuit of master’s and doctoral degrees within the engineering industry. Fellowships offer different ranges of financial aid and a paid internship rotation.
More information on the GEM fellowship program is available at www.gemfellowship.org.
The Bagley College of Engineering is online at www.bagley.msstate.edu.
By: Emile Creel