Louis Smith, EE’66, president of AlliedSignal Inc., gave the commencement address to the graduating class in the spring 1993. The forerunner dared students to step up to leadership opportunities and accept the challenge.
He recalled, when a young engineer for AlliedSignal, his friends were talking about their goals and, when asked, Smith said that he wanted to be president of the division.
“My friends laughed at me and said ‘there is no way an African American will ever be president of this place,’” says Smith. “I still see some of those people and many still have the same job they had then — they saw themselves as limited.”
Smith’s advice for the 1993 class was to set high standards, capitalize on opportunities, focus on customers, reward teamwork, continuously improve and give back more than you receive.
Share This Story
Spark a Memory?
Share your story! Fill out the form below to share your fondest memory or anecdote of S&T. If you'd prefer not typing, you can also share by phone at 833-646-3715 (833-Miner150).
Endurance was her middle name
The first woman to earn a degree from S&T, Eva Endurance Hirdler Greene, class of 1911, received the general science…
All a-Twitter
The creator and co-founder of Twitter — Jack Dorsey — spent a couple of years studying computer science at Missouri…
Brandi (Andersen) and Patrick VerSteeg
Brandi (Andersen) and Patrick VerSteeg met during Opening Week in 2006. “My roommate and I knew Patrick’s roommate from Jackling…
Inventing the future at ‘the idea factory’
In the 1950s, AT&T Bell Labs was a hotbed of innovation, a place where engineers and theorists came together to…
Non-stop innovation
Dan Scott, a 1970 metallurgical engineering graduate, holds more than 100 patents and has dozens more patents pending. The technical…
Hall of fame astronaut
Janet Kavandi, former deputy director at NASA’s Glenn Research Center and a NASA astronaut, has logged more than 33 days…