By Rebecca E. Jones

The inaugural 19 recipients of VCU’s Wright Engineering Access Scholarship represent many backgrounds and engineering disciplines. They have one thing in common: a place in the school’s history.

This first cohort of the new flagship scholarship program includes first-generation college students, transfers to VCU, immigrants to the U.S. and a single custodial father of four.

The Wright Engineering Access Scholarship was established with a historic $5 million gift from longtime benefactor C. Kenneth Wright. Wright designed his gift to help qualified students, especially nontraditional students, earn an engineering degree without dependence on loans.

Wright and his late wife Dianne were entrepreneurs in the vehicle rental and travel industries, owning several businesses that operated primarily in Virginia with affiliations across the U.S. His advice to the first cohort? “Be honest and work hard,” Wright said. “America is a great country, and Richmond is a great city. You can make both even greater.”

At a September Dean’s Society reception honoring Wright and the Wright Scholars, Barbara D. Boyan, Ph.D., Alice T. and William H. Goodwin Chair and Dean of the VCU School of Engineering, called on these students to lead the way. “We are counting on you to be mentors and help others succeed in these programs,” Boyan said. “This is what VCU is all about — we’re small enough that we can have a personal relationship with each of you. We want that to continue, and hope you will keep this cohort identity.”

Lionel Brookins, a senior majoring in electrical engineering, accepted the challenge on behalf of his peers. He recalled the “VCU difference” he saw on his first visit. “When I was searching for schools to transfer to from Tidewater Community College, VCU was not on my radar,” he said. The welcoming atmosphere and professors’ accessibility changed that. “When I left that afternoon, my top three choices were VCU, VCU and VCU. I call it my ‘signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours’ tour,” Brookins said.

Like many Wright Scholars, Brookins’ path to engineering school was unconventional. It began when he was working for a U.S. Navy contractor and fell in love with math he taught himself with workbooks from the Navy Exchange. Brookins said the Wright scholarship means his final year will be his first without any unsubsidized loans. He already plans to pay it forward. “I hope to leverage this wonderful gift by donating back to the Wright Scholarship Program to help grow the number of aspiring engineers,” he said.

Wright Scholar Erwin Karincic is a sophomore majoring in computer engineering. Like Brookins, he taught himself engineering fundamentals long before considering an education at VCU. As a seven year-old in Bosnia, Karincic was stuck with a broken computer that nobody could fix. “I bought a hard drive and operating system and fixed it myself,” he said. “That started my passion for technology.”

Karincic approaches cybersecurity student competitions with the drive of an athlete and has participated on many winning teams. Professionals told him that nobody passes the notoriously difficult Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) exam on the first try — so he spent three months training and passed on his first attempt. Karincic recently learned he placed third out of 3,935 students who accepted the SANS Institute’s CyberStart 2017 Scholarship Challenge. He sees himself as an ambassador for cybersecurity and believes VCU can be a powerhouse in this area. “I want to help VCU be an even bigger name in cybersecurity,” he said.  “This scholarship will allow me to focus more on that and less on jobs to afford tuition.”

Cara Brooks, a junior majoring in biomedical engineering, is one of the many Wright Scholars who are first-generation college students. She was initially drawn to engineering by “shiny devices with flashy lights and sci-fi fantasies.” By age 10, she had lost two close relatives to cancer and her avocation got more specific. “I discovered a passion for helping others and became interested in medicine, developing technologies and medical innovation,” she said.

Working in VCU’s Boyan/Schwartz Lab whetted Brooks’ appetite for research, and a recent internship with Johnson and Johnson sparked in interest in industry. She is undecided as to whether she will pursue grad school or an industry position after graduation but certain the Wright scholarship will enhance her last semesters at VCU. “I was working two jobs,” she said. “This means that I can take more classes and participate on a Vertically Integrated Project team.” For Robert Jackson, Brooks’ father, her success in engineering was no surprise. “Over the years, Cara went through every science kit and chemistry kit I could find,” he said.  “This scholarship is a wonderful opportunity for her. All those math books paid off!”     

Wright Scholar Jordan Karim is a senior in mechanical engineering with a nuclear concentration. He’s also a veteran, a full-time employee with Dominion Due Diligence Group, a member of the Army National Guard — and a single custodial parent of four children between the ages of 1 through 13. “Yes, I’m a little busy,” he said with a smile, adding that he was attracted to nuclear engineering because he “likes to boil water.” Karim also believes the need for energy is at the root of a great deal of world conflict. “Nuclear fission provides the most viable solution to the problem of safe, clean energy for all,” he said. Being part of that solution gives him the focus to do all he does and keep a 3.95 GPA.

The Wright Scholarship will give him more time for his studies in his last year. It also puts him in a more secure financial position to pay for his children’s education — which may include engineering school for his middle daughter, aged 10. “She has been saying she wants to be an engineer, and in a recent conversation about the Tooth Fairy she told me that ‘opinions are not evidence,’” Karim said. “I knew at age 10 that I wanted to be an engineer, too.”

Wright hopes others will contribute to the Wright Engineering Access Scholarship fund to expand college opportunities for more students pursuing careers in engineering. Learn more or contribute.

Meet the 2017-18 Wright Scholars