VT CEED

04/27/2026

A few weeks ago, we held our CEED End-of-Year Celebration to honor our incredible scholars who volunteer countless hours supporting our pre-college, undergraduate, and graduate program initiatives.

To our scholars: we see you, we appreciate you, and we are grateful for the many ways you show up, serve, and make an impact. You continue to embody Virginia Tech’s motto, Ut Prosim— “That I May Serve.”

Thank you for leading with purpose, heart, and commitment. Keep pressing forward!

03/13/2026

Alexandria Johnson did it, y’all! She has been accepted into the Ph.D. program in Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of California, Davis this fall.

Two years ago, Alexandria participated in the A Step to the Doctorate Institute, and since then, she has continued to grow and thrive. She chose to pursue her master’s degree at Virginia Tech, where she was actively involved in the New Horizons Graduate Scholars Program and many other organizations across campus.

There were many conversations about taking the next step, and Alexandria kept showing exactly why she was ready. Her skills, integrity, energy, and genuine commitment to excellence made it clear that she was built for this moment.

So proud of you, Alexandria. Your journey is powerful, and this is only the beginning.

Prepared. Capable. Necessary.

03/11/2026

Another A Step to the Doctorate Scholar is making major moves!

Please join me in celebrating Richard Harrison on his acceptance to graduate school at NYU Tandon in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Virginia Tech’s Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is also still awaiting a decision from UCLA as he continues pursuing his passion for integrated circuits.

Richard, we are proud of all you have accomplished and excited about what lies ahead. Your hard work, focus, and determination are opening powerful doors—this is only the beginning!

03/08/2026

Big congratulations to Ivy Brundege for being accepted into the Neuroscience PhD Program at Johns Hopkins University as a Vivien Thomas Scholars Initiative Fellow!

Moments like this remind us why A Step to the Doctorate exists—to help scholars see what is possible and pursue it with confidence.

We are proud of you, Ivy. Keep shining, keep pushing forward, and keep doing great things. The journey is just beginning!

01/30/2026

Virginia Tech NSBE Teams Win Big at Hampton Roads Hack-A-Thon!

Eighty college students from across Virginia gathered for the Hampton Roads Hack-A-Thon, an innovation-driven competition designed to test creativity, engineering skills, and technical problem-solving. Virginia Tech’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) sent several scholars to compete—two teams earn top honors.

The hack-a-thon provided an opportunity for students to apply classroom knowledge to real-world challenges, collaborate across majors, and showcase emerging talent within STEM fields.

Virginia Tech’s delegation excelled, securing first place and $5,000 as well as third place and $2,000 for their organization.

First-Place Winners: Justin Kennedy, Richard Harrison, Samuel Sleshi, and Monty Brown.

Third-Place Winners: Fehintolu Ghandi - Olaoye, Mounira Njinjie, Winston Mensah, Alphonse Otieno, and Joseph Nsereko.

The competition highlights the growing impact of student innovation in Virginia’s Tech landscape. We see you, and we are incredibly proud of all you’ve accomplished!

01/13/2026

They made the journey—and brought great energy with them! It was a great opportunity to host Alijah and Zion this past Friday as they learned more about Industrial & Systems Engineering and explored graduate school pathways at Virginia Tech.

A huge thank you to Antonio Carrington (VSU Alumni) for providing an outstanding lab tour and thoughtfully engaging their questions. Moments like this remind us that the next generation is already on the way—curious, capable, and ready.

VSU is always showing up and representing with excellence—proud of our Trojans every time!

11/21/2025

We were honored to host students and faculty from Virginia State University for a two-day visit filled with lab tours, graduate panels, micro-interviews, campus exploration, and real conversations about the path to graduate school.

VSU students showed up with curiosity, excellence, and big dreams—while CEED ambassadors, faculty, and grad students opened doors, shared their journeys, and modeled what community and mentorship can look like.

Experiences like this don’t just inform students—they ignite possibilities. We are grateful to the Sloan Foundation and Genentech for their support in making opportunities like this possible.

Grateful to everyone who helped make this happen. To the students: keep going. The next step is closer than you think.

Audra Barnes and Alexa N. Smith, thank you for your tremendous leadership and guidance in bringing this vision to life. Your dedication, coordination, and care made this possible.

10/25/2025

CEED Graduate Student Programs joined our scholars at the Blacksburg Farmers Market today—coffee on us from Songbird Café.

We connected with local business owners, built new connections, and took a mindful break while enjoying a beautiful day downtown.

Thank you Kamillah Kassam for coordinating.

We look forward to upcoming events to build community. Hope to see you there.

10/10/2025

Congrats to Renard Jenkins for winning the Ceramic Disc Golf competition at MS&T! Renard mentors first-year students through CEED and he participates in eleVaTed Scholars program—leading by example and doing great things. Even greater things are on the horizon.

10/06/2025

This past summer we piloted two biomedical engineering-focused day camps in Floyd and Wytheville. Huge shout out to Dr. Ashley Taylor and Dr. Chris Arena, MS grads Jenna and Leah and undergrads Kaayla and Abdulai (all in BEAM) for their tremendous support in making this happen along with the educators in Floyd and Wytheville!

A new biomedical engineering camp from Virginia Tech's Center for Engineering Excellence and Discovery combines real-world research with fun STEM mini-projec...

10/05/2025

We had a wonderful time visiting schools and attending the Kenneth Dorsey Jr Foundation STEM Fest on Friday and Saturday! The Clark Scholars, Pathways for Future Engineers, STEP and VT NSBE students did an awesome job answering questions at the student panels for our school visits and leading hands on activities and manning our tables at the STEM Fest. Thank you to Achievable Dreams, Kempsville High School and Advanced Technology Center VBCPS for hosting us on Friday, and thank you to Kenneth for all his hard work putting the STEM Fest together!