Kerry-Ann White, a New Yorker by way of Jamaica, was interested in math from a young age. Her parents, Melrose and Adolphus White, encouraged her, knowing the value of a good education. Her participation in the PIMS (Partnership in Math and Science) Program in 1995 at Michigan State University with the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. helped her to define her career goals. She entered the Polytechnic University’s Y.E.S. (Youth in Engineering and Science) Program during the following summer, which sparked her interest in Computer Science. After entering Howard University in the fall of 1997, Kerry-Ann pursued her interests in the engineering field.

The Open Door Education Foundation, through the NACCB’s Washington, D.C., Chapter, honored her with scholarships in the spring of 2000, fall of 2000 and the spring of 2001, which contributed to her loan-free academic career and propelled her to a new phase in her life. This new direction began on May 12, 2001 when she decided to attend graduate school after graduating Magna Cum Laude (3.78 GPA) with a B.S. in Systems and Computer Science from the School of Engineering at Howard University.

After graduating from Howard University, Kerry-Ann worked full-time for two summers at the MITRE Corporation in McLean, Va., as a Software Applications Development Engineer. She then relocated to New York and returned to Polytechnic University — this time as a GEM Masters Fellowship recipient. At age 23, after successfully completing her MS in Computer Science in December 2002, she returned to the MITRE Corporation and was promoted to Senior Software Applications Development Engineer in the Center for Advanced Aviation Systems Development (CAASD). In her current position, she uses Microsoft Visual Basic to create software that will analyze airline restrictions on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data to interpret the results and decipher its meaning.

Kerry-Ann intends to pursue her MBA from the University of Maryland beginning in the fall of 2003. When she retires from Corporate America, she envisions becoming a teacher at a local university after working with them for several years as an adjunct professor.

Kerry-Ann believes strongly in extracurricular activities and community services and proudly serves as a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and Tau Beta Pi. While at Howard University, her extracurricular activities included helping those less fortunate. For instance, she volunteered at the D.C. Central Kitchen and the Capital Area Food Bank by packaging food for the homeless, YWCA (home for the underprivileged) Cleanup and Bright Beginnings (school for homeless and underprivileged children).

Despite, or, perhaps, even because of the current slump in today’s economy, Kerry-Ann encourages today’s youth to follow their hearts and pursue something that will hold their interests for a long time. For her, that field is engineering, where she can utilize her creativity. To the young children out there, she says, “Apply summer programs in a field you would like to consider. Get to know your strengths and weaknesses; capitalize your strength; choose a career and make it work for you!”

After all of her scholarships, education and mentoring, she continues to give back to the community because of her belief in a simple truth: “To whom much is given much is expected.”