QUEST alumnus Ricky Wilson (Q6) has been selected as a Modern-Day Technology Leader and will be recognized at the 30th annual BEYA (“Becoming Everything You Are”) STEM Conference this month. These individuals are nominated by the Council of Engineering Deans of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine. Ricky will be recognized on February 19th, 2016 at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, 1201 Market St.
According to BEYA, “Modern Day Technology Leaders are men and women who are demonstrating outstanding performance and will shape the future course of engineering, science, and technology. [Ricky] and the other technology leaders are individuals whose stories of phenomenal success merit national recognition.” For more information, visit their website.
Ricky has worked at Constellation since 2010 in a number of different capacities, initially as a Business Analyst both in Constellation’s IT group and Strategic Systems and Business Operations (SSBO). As a Business Analyst, his goal was to improve the system architecture and automate reporting in order to eliminate non-value added activities. Ricky currently works in Constellation’s Structuring group as a Sr. Structuring analyst, where he develops software solutions for Constellation.
Ricky credits the QUEST program with helping him develop the skills and abilities that have allowed him to achieve this recognition. “QUEST was about understanding business needs and using data to provide a solution that will be valuable to the customer. It was my first real project of that nature and was also the first time I had to work with a multi-disciplinary team. I learned a lot about identifying strengths, sharing responsibilities, and setting expectations so that multiple pieces can come together to form a single solution. I would say that QUEST introduced me to the skills that I needed to be successful and I have spent years building upon and sharpening those skills.”
Ricky is also the new chair of the QUEST alumni board and shared his thoughts on the goals and initiatives of the board moving forward. “We recently had our retreat and we are working to continue strengthening the QUEST program. QUEST is already very successful and our primary goal is to continue to support existing programming and events. Our goals for this upcoming year will be to build upon this success by improving the web presence of QUEST, building out a directory for alumni and students, and working towards financial independence from the university by beginning to establish a QUEST endowment.”
Congrats Ricky!