STEM All In celebrates its first three graduates

Jonathan Bolanos, Presley Ihezue and Cornelius Walker will receive master’s degrees on May 11, making them the first three STEM All In participants to graduate from Clemson University. All three have secured engineering jobs in industry or the military.

STEM All In, first started in 2018, is a program that brings some of the nation’s best and brightest underrepresented students to Clemson to learn about graduate school.

Students meet with faculty and staff to have their questions answered before deciding whether to enroll. The three-day visits also allow the prospective students to meet each other and begin forming a network.

The cost of travel, meals and lodging are funded by the program. While the program takes place at Clemson, the emphasis is on what it takes to succeed in graduate school in general, and participants are under no obligation to enroll, although many do.

STEM All In is a collaboration between the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences, the College of Science and the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences.

Tonyia Stewart, the director of graduate recruiting and inclusion for the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences, said that STEM All In has been tremendously successful in helping widen and diversify the talent pipeline.

“We are incredibly proud of Jonathan, Presley and Cornelius for their hard work and dedication, and we congratulate them for becoming the first STEM All In participants to graduate from Clemson University,” Stewart said. “We look forward to continuing our outreach with our next STEM All In cohort in the fall.”

Here’s a look at STEM All In’s first graduating class:

Jonathan Bolanos
Hometown: Beltsville, Maryland
Master of Science Degree: Mechanical engineering
Undergraduate degree: Mechanical engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

What role did STEM All In play in your decision to attend Clemson?
To be completely honest, the community was the main factor that drew me to Clemson. When Tonyia reached out and mentioned the new fellowship program, I was excited to learn that she had a close relationship with my advisor, Dr. Oliver J. Myers. It presented an excellent opportunity for me to become part of a vibrant and welcoming community of STEM students and researchers. All of these factors combined made the decision to come to Clemson an easy one, and I am grateful for the opportunities and experiences that this program has offered me.

Who was most influential to you at Clemson?
Everyone I met has had their own way of influencing me. One person who has had a significant impact on me is my close friend and colleague, Stephan Terry. We work together in the same research group and have always pushed each other to do our best. From starting our research together to presenting our findings and finishing together. In addition, Dr. Myers has also been an invaluable influence on me throughout my academic journey. He has consistently offered guidance and support, helping me make informed decisions and encouraging me to pursue my goals.

What is next for you?
Working full-time as a systems engineer for Lockheed Martin in Maryland.

Presley Ihezue
Hometown: San Francisco Bay area
Master’s degree: Automotive engineering
Undergraduate degree: Mechanical engineering, California State University, Sacramento

What role did STEM All In play in your decision to attend Clemson?
It was a deciding factor in whether I was going to come to Clemson. In the beginning, it was between another university and Clemson. When I was reaching out to different faculty, I wasn’t getting a response from the other university. But when I reached out to Clemson, I would get a lot of response, and they ultimately paid for me to visit the institution. And that helped me decide that this was the place I wanted to go.

Who was most influential to you at Clemson?
If I had to choose just one person, it would be Dr. Jerome McClendon. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have come to Clemson. The other university gave me a small scholarship, and Dr. McClendon was like, hey, we’ll match it or do better. He got that done, and he introduced me to who I needed to be introduced to, and the rest is history.

What is next for you?
I am going to be working on off-road autonomy for the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command in Warren, Michigan.

Cornelius Walker
Hometown: Orangeburg
Master’s degree: Civil engineering with an emphasis on structural engineering
Undergraduate degree: Civil engineering technology, South Carolina State University

What role did STEM All In play in your decision to attend Clemson?
I saw an email from STEM All In in my last semester as an undergraduate. I wasn’t thinking of going to graduate school, but STEM All In said you don’t even have to come here for graduate school. They were just showing the campus and the things they offered. So, I was like, okay, it’s free– I just wanted to see what it was and decided to stay later.

Who was most influential to you at Clemson?
My advisor, Dr. Brandon Ross, was most influential to me. I emailed him a couple of times, and he asked me if I wanted to be part of his lab. Every time I had a problem I just went to Dr. Ross who would walk me through what I had to do.

What is next for you?
I am going to work as a structural designer for ClarkDietrich Building Systems in McDonough, Georgia.