Undergrad Profile—Genia Bernard
Genia Bernard has found her niche at Tech. After starting and succeeding in engineering, she decided to change paths and enroll in the scientific and technical communication program. For her, it's a better fit, especially with Hollywood in her blood.
"Nia" has already done a stint in Tinsel Town, working in production assistance and in extras casting. She's gotten to rub elbows with some big names: Maya Angelou, Cicely Tyson, Tyler Perry, and Blair Underwood, to drop a few. She's also gotten to work on some major projects: Madea's Class Reunion is the most famous movie in which she was involved.
And her STC degree has helped decide on a career path. "Last year, my first in STC, I submitted an entry into the Northern Lights Film Festival. My twelve-minute movie, Be Patient Child, convinced me that STC is for me. Even if I don't end up in the movie industry, I can work in graphic design or web design."
Nia is working on the Study Abroad website, and she's got inside knowledge: she spent a summer in Sunderland, England, as part of the program. She keeps busy in other ways, as a member of the Black Student Association, and, when she was a member of the National Society of Black Engineers, she chaired the Pre-College Initiative that brought sixteen high school students up to Tech from downstate (the same program that brought Nia here).
"I know some of them are now interested in engineering," she said. "And that's the idea of program. If they choose to be engineering students at Tech, that's great."
As for Tech, she says, "You have to make the school, the school can't make you. You control your destiny, what you make of it. The name stands out, but don't come here and not participate. You have to go for it and get it."
Clearly, Nia's got it.