Brandon Henry, a mechanical engineering major and president of Temple’s National Society for Black Engineers, has accepted a role as a digital rotational associate at Pfizer.

Brandon Henry 
Degree/Major: BS, mechanical engineering
College: College of Engineering
Hometown: Queens, New York
Next stop: Digital rotational associate; Pfizer, New York City

Why I chose Temple: “I chose Temple for a few reasons, but the main reason was that a lot of the other schools I looked at didn’t have the flexibility that Temple offered. I actually started as a computer science major my first year, but I realized it wasn’t the best fit for me. I knew I could switch majors at Temple, and that process was seamless. 

“And because I’m from New York City, I knew I wanted to stay in a city, but I wanted to get out of my hometown. I wanted to explore a new environment. Philly is close, and it’s also a great city full of rich history, so it made choosing Temple easy.” 

An opportunity abroad: “I was able to study abroad in Rome during my sophomore year. It was interesting in a lot of different ways, but the main thing was experiencing how engineering is taught outside the United States. In the U.S., engineering is very problem-based. We do a lot of problem sets to try and solve problems. Whereas when I took engineering courses in Rome, it was a lot more theoretical. We spent a lot of time understanding the logic behind key engineering principles and how you could use those principles to not only solve problems but also to theory-craft solutions to new issues. It was really cool.” 

Transformative Temple moment: “When I first transitioned to engineering, I took the Intro to Engineering course. When I finished my work, I would check on the other students and help them if I could. At the end of the semester, my professor, Cory Budischak, asked if I wanted to be a teaching assistant (TA) for the class. Being a TA helped me gain an interest in becoming a leader and helping others, and it led to my current position as a student mentor for freshmen engineering students.  

“Joining Temple’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) was another transformative moment. I knew I wanted to join a club in college, and NSBE really drew me in with the community they’ve built and the energy they bring. I became the academic excellence chair my junior year, and now I serve as president. NSBE really showed me what I could gain from a college organization in terms of professional development. And it also helped me forge friendships that I’ll have for life.” 

What’s next: “After graduation I’ll be a digital rotational associate at Pfizer in Manhattan. It is a two-year program where every six months I’ll rotate through different teams within Pfizer’s digital sector. I could be doing software engineering or more data analysis and business administration work. I’m looking forward to learning about Pfizer's operations in depth, developing skills and discovering how best I can contribute.”