1. I am Darryl Johnson.The wayone introducesthemselvescantell alotabouttheircharacter. Priorto
college,Ialwaysintroducedmyself with"myname is",whichshowsjustapossessionof one’sname.
NowI am proudto be whoI am. Throughouthigh-schoolIhada sportsonlyfocus.I playedfootball,ran
track, playedbasketball,andwrestledall fouryearsof school.IalsoplayedAAUbaseball andassumed
that sportswere myticketintocollege.BeingayoungBlackmale meantthatthe onlywayto be
successful,the onlywaysIwasevershownhow to make itout of my diverse situation,wasthrough
entertainment,sports,orworse.Worse notbeinganoptionbecause Ihadseen toomany family
membersandfriendsbe suckedintothe criminal wayof life andtheycouldonlygetoutina casketor in
a prisoncell.The latter,isonlya postponementof theirlifestyle.However,whetherthe entertainment
was sports,music,oracting, there was,andcontinuestobe,a lack of positive African-Americanmale
influenceinmylife.Iamcomingfroma single parenthome IfiguredIwouldfitthe “ESPN storyline
athlete”perfectly,seeingthatI came froma humble beginningsurroundedbyviolence andunambitious
mentors,andthat wasall I wasworriedabout.Material inclasswas veryeasyforme to grasp andI had
no ambitiontopursue engineeringuntil Ifoundmyself inaProjectLeadthe Way (PLTW) -Introto
Engineering-course.Ithenrealizedthere were people inthe worldsimplysolvingproblemsandsaving
livesatthe same time throughapplicationsof mathandscience.Atthat instance,Iknew what"planB"
wouldbe at that time.If notsports,I couldbe a positive role model some otherwayandbe the father
figure orthe olderbrothertoa youngchildwholike me,wasnot surroundedbythe type of people one
wouldwantto be like.Iknewitwouldnotbe easyand I was upfor the challenge.Afterall,comingfrom
my neighborhoodandplayingsportsall mylife,backingdownfromachallenge wasneveranoption.
It startedthere,inthat classroom,where we made simple shapeswithAutodeskinventorandbuilta
bridge ina competition.Infollowing,Ienrolledindraftinganddesigneda house,followedbya
mechanicsclassandworkedon cars. Steadily,semesterbysemester,mypassiongrew.Inoticedmyself
spendingjustasmuchtime withmy engineeringteacherasI didonthe track, inthe weightroom, onthe
field,oronthe court. I was volunteeringatthe Boy'sand Girl'sclubduringSTEM nightsand gettingmy
handsdirtywithHabitat forHumanity.Ialso startedto realize the ethical value thatanengineer
absolutelymusthave.Butsportswere still numberone onmymindandin myheart.
Enteringmysenioryearof highschool,I had a great football seasonandreceivedmytickettogoto
college toplayfootball atWingate University,aliberal artscollege rightoutside of myhometownof
Charlotte.Iwas beyondexcited.No,itwasnotthe Wolfpackor anothergreatDivision-1A universitybut
it wasmy chance to playcollege football nonetheless.The onlythingthatsteeredme awayfrommy
original dreamwasmymother.A lawgraduate fromour in-state rival,The Universityof NorthCarolina
at Chapel Hill (U.N.C.),andshe knewIcould"make itout"some otherway.My father,alsoa graduate of
UNC and a formerTar Heel football playerthoughtotherwise;however,hisabsence fromourfamily
resultedinhisargumentbackfiringandmade me wantto steerawayfrom football evenmore and
become anengineeringstudentata top rankingschool thatalso hasmuch bettercolors.My mother’s
wordshelpedme realizethatIhave a higherpurpose inlife thanjustplayingasportfor fouryears,
graduatingandend updoingsomethingprofessionallythatIwouldnothave the passionfor.SoI
decidedthateventhoughmyfirsttrue love wasthe game of football thatmy"planB" had to evolve into
my planA andbe the firstmajorstepI took intobecoming the manI wantto be.

2. Andhere I am, as a sophomore inmechanical engineering.UnderstandingthatI made the rightdecision
I have foundmypassionselsewheretofill the voidIfeltfromnotplayingfootball.Ivolunteeratthe
Boy's andGirl's clubthroughthe EngineeringOutreachProgram. Iam an executiveboardmemberof the
National SocietyforBlackEngineers,the AfrikanAmericanStudentAdvisoryCouncil,andalsoserve asa
ResidentAdvisorandBlackMale Initiative mentoratAventFerry.The N.C. State and the greater
communitymeansmore tome now thaneverbefore andI realize thatmymotherhelpedme make the
rightchoice by comingto thisgreatuniversityevenafterbeingacceptedintoheralmamaterU.N.C.
CurrentlyIam on a co-oprotationwithGeneral Electric(G.E.)-Power&Waterat the Gas Turbine facility
inGreenville,SouthCarolinaandIam constantlygainingabetterunderstandingof whatanimpacta
true engineercanhave onthe greatersociety.Mymentorfor G.E. isan N.C.State mechanical
engineeringalumniandformerAmericanSocietyforMechanical Engineeringpresident.Ihave received
much neededguidance andexperience inthe workforce andabouthow toexpandmyabilitiesandmy
potential.
I planto furtheradvance myeducation andexcel academicallysoIcan attendgraduate school at NC
State and obtaina mastersinmechanical engineeringwithamaterialsconcentration,andmultiple other
minordegrees,suchas:mathematicsandsupplychainmanagement.AfterIearnmydegrees,I planto
workin the fieldandgainthe expandedknowledge byapplyingthe toughtheoryof the curriculum
taught topractice inthe fieldandbecome adeceleratedprofessional engineer.Lastlytomake my
experience come full circle,havingmymasterswill give me the abilitytoteachhighschool andbecome
a football andtrack coach, and an engineeringteacher.Henceforth,thiswill allow me toprovide the
same engineeringandSTEMexposure tostudentsinfuture generationsthatwasgiventome.My
educationandexperience alsogivesme the opportunitytofill the role of afatherfigure tothe family
that a football teamcreates,andserve asa constant reminderthatthere isanotherwayto be a strong,
successful,African-Americanmale thatdoesnotbecome astereotype.