Dr. Cynthia Pierre (above) will receive the 2019 NSBE Golden Torch Award for Outstanding Woman in Technology. Bethany Clarkson-Morgan (right) will receive the 2019 Gene Washington Champion of Champions Award recognizing her longtime commitment to NSBE.
As a member of NSBE since 1990, Bethany has been proud to be a part of “a network of individuals that promote scholarship and collective self-help” who also give back to the community and inspire future generations.
NSBE led Bethany to her career at BP. “It is through NSBE that I gained my opportunity at BP. Nineteen years ago, when I was looking to change companies and get a new experience, it was leveraging contacts that I made via NSBE that made me aware of an opportunity at BP and the rest is history.”
To her, being recognized means that the work she is doing within BP is helping NSBE continue its mission. It also means she’s living by her personal commitment of “creating an environment where diversity of thought and ideas are used to educate and uplift the community thereby unlocking and unleashing the potential of all those I interact with personally and professionally.”
Cynthia credits NSBE with helping her to become a leader.
Cynthia has received congratulatory messages and well-wishes from her BP colleagues, and is grateful for the support. “I have been overwhelmed and humbled by the well wishes received by people at all levels of the organization.”
This show of support and goodwill from her colleagues is unsurprising, as Cynthia counts the people of BP as something that she enjoys most about her job. “The caliber of BP employees around the globe makes me extremely proud to work for BP.”
Bethany’s relishes the opportunity to mentor individuals at BP and feels accomplished knowing her guidance has helped others move on to bigger roles within the organization.
Opportunity is an important part of BP’s culture that both women have seen and felt in their careers. “The opportunities that BP has provided me has set me up for success. I am still marveled at the fact that BP prioritizes and invests in the development of its employees.” Cynthia says. Bethany felt the impact of BP’s culture from her first day of work, and she was “immediately embraced as part of something bigger striving for excellence.”
A part of that something bigger is the global nature of BP, giving employees the opportunity to work with people from many diverse backgrounds and cultures. “Because of BP’s global reach, I’ve learned to expand my definition of diversity along various dimensions. For example, during my role at BP Kwinana, I worked on a team where 8 different nationalities were present amongst a team of 9 individuals. The diversity of backgrounds and perspectives of the various teams that I have been a member of have provided great growth opportunities and made my STEM journey richer.” Cynthia says.
Bethany feels she benefits from a diverse work environment as it allows her to pull from diverse ideas and collaborate. Although different cultures can sometimes be an underlying cause of issues, understanding and appreciating differences allows for better solutions.
What advice do these accomplished engineers have for students interested in a career as an engineer?
Continue to persevere when the road gets a bit bumpy: