Herff College of Engineering
Leadership class tours government facilities on D.C. trip
The Herff College of Engineering’s Leadership Class got behind-the-scenes access to some government facilities during their trip to Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland.
The students, accompanied by Herff College of Engineering Dean Okenwa Okoli and Engineering Co-Op and Internship Coordinator Shelia Moses, flew out of Memphis for their four-day trip on Tuesday, March 10.
Wednesday, Herff alum Armand Quattlebaum, a member of the FBI, led the group on a tour of FBI headquarters. The group later toured the U.S. Capitol, a visit set up with the assistance of Congressman Steve Cohen's office.
Students got a look at the impact engineering has on defense systems by touring Northrop Grumman on Thursday. The company pioneers “technologies at the edge of every frontier to connect, advance and protect the U.S. and its allies,” according to its website. Led by Denisha Marshall, a former student of Dean Okoli’s, Herff’s students met with different division heads and learned about the defense systems and career opportunities in the industry.
That evening, Herff’s current and past student leaders came together for dinner and a reception. The current leadership class networked and made connections with their predecessors, including alums from 1969 up through 2022.
“Our students were able to make connections with alums and met industry leaders who spoke to them about career pathways and internship opportunities,” Moses said. “Those meetings have already resulted in LinkedIn connections for some of our students and several members of our leadership class have already formed relationships with fellow professionals in their fields of interest.”
The most exciting part of the trip came on the final day when students went to the United States Secret Service’s J. Rowley Training Center. Herff 1969 alum Dennis Chomicki sponsored the students who met people currently working and training for the Secret Service. The leadership class toured a weapons lab, viewed former presidential secret service vehicles, participated in active shooter simulations and rode along in cars driving through an obstacle course designed to test the skills of secret service drivers. During that demonstration, students sat shotgun as drivers raced at 90 mph through a field full of barriers and cones, sometimes doing donuts or spinning on a dime and driving backwards.
While the thrilling ride-along with the Secret Service certainly made an impact on the students’ memories, Moses said the entire trip left a positive mark on the students’ futures.
“It’s hard to say if any one particular thing impacted our students the most,” Moses said. “Of course, they enjoyed the hands-on demonstrations and live-action training, but each day provided a new resource to help build their futures. Whether it was insight gained from their meetings with government officials, perspective shared from one of our alums or a LinkedIn request from someone in their desired field, multiple aspects of the trip helped to prepare our students for their future leadership roles in engineering.”
