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Kenda Roberts ’01 of the Bronx, N.Y., was courted by Wall Street companies before accepting a job with Accenture (formerly Anderson Consulting). She is well prepared for her career after completing a course of study that included research in the fields of engineering and economics and business. Roberts chose the Bachelor of Arts in engineering major because it satisfied her desire to be involved with the technical world without necessarily having to create the technology.
“The program has given me enough technical classes to feel confident in my understanding of science and engineering and the flexibility to pursue a minor in economics and business,” says Roberts. “The professors are extremely helpful. They are patient and supportive, which gives me the motivation to work hard.”
Roberts’ Lafayette experience was marked by a variety of research opportunities. She studied engineering economics in a course with David Veshosky, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and completed an EXCEL Scholars project that explored the factors that contribute to the wealth gap between white and black Americans.
Encompassing knowledge from her major and minor, Roberts completed an honors thesis on the U.S. prospects for investing in Telefono Automaticos La Paz LTDA, or the COTEL telecommunication project, in La Paz, Bolivia. She incorporated economic and engineering concepts in a “risk lattice” centering on the social, political, and technological situation in Bolivia, and offered answers for addressing each of the many risk factors.
Veshosky and Gladstone Fluney Hutchinson, assistant professor of economics and business, oversaw her project. “I got involved because of my relationships with these professors. I enjoy working with them,” says Roberts.
Outside the classroom, Roberts found time to be cocaptain of the varsity track and field team, a peer counselor, and a member of a minority women’s support group. As a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon, the national honor society for economics, Roberts helped local residents complete their income tax returns at no cost.