Role Model Profile: David Anderson, Sr.

David Andersen, Sr., believes in giving back to his alma mater and the community. As evidence, he received the 2000 Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) for Community Service and the 1998 National Society for Black Engineer (NSBE) Golden Torch Award for Volunteer of the Year.

According to Anderson, "Life is what you make of it. You can complain about what is not right with the world or you can get involved and make the world what it should be."

As a means of putting his philosophy into action, Anderson devotes time to education, young people and community programs. He wants people to know, "No matter who you are or what your background is, you can be a success if you have continuous self-improvement, embrace change, work hard, have a positive attitude, and always strive to do your best."

Anderson was the first member of his family to complete high school and college, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics from Southern University. He continues to stay involved at Southern as the Assistant Campus Manager and as a member of the Southern University Business and Industry Cluster. He also attends numerous events throughout the year, including career fairs, workshops and mock interviews.

Anderson has been at Raytheon Company for 26 years and his current roles as Senior Principal Software Engineer and North Texas Engineering Learning Leader allow him to work with engineering managers, the Raytheon Learning Institute, learning vendors and universities. He is on Raytheon's Corporate Diversity Council and currently mentors eight Raytheon employees who work in a variety of disciplines. He also works with the Raytheon Black Engineering Network to help assign mentors to new hires.

"There is nothing more rewarding, nothing more important, nothing more lasting than what we do for others," he says. "I am grateful for the opportunity that Raytheon has given me. I could never have imagined that I would have been able to accomplish the things that I have. Raytheon has provided me the opportunity to work in a job that I thoroughly enjoy. I have traveled all over the United States, Europe, Japan and Asia Pacific and worked with some of the most intelligent and brightest people in the world."

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