>> FRANK: It was in eighth or seventh grade, I had a project.
It was just a simple project of hooking up light bulbs,
the circuitry for wire wiring, the light bulbs,
and then a light bulb went off my head in my head.
I was like,
>> JORDAN: Literally.
>> FRANK: I actually really enjoy this.
I actually didn't know what engineering was.
I just knew light bulbs dealt with electrical engineering
until I got to college and figured out, okay,
this is what engineering is.
My name's Frankie Reed.
And I graduated from the University of Michigan in 2015.
Now I work at a Toyota motor company
and I design the electronics inside the vehicle,
specifically the combi meter or the instrument cluster,
which is your speedometer tachometer area.
>> JORDAN: What do you find most exciting about what you do?
>> FRANK: So the most exciting thing I find is
being able to produce ideals for newer products.
We can create any idea we want.
>> JORDAN: Wow.
>> FRANK: And so I have one patent already.
That's, that's not out on vehicles,
but maybe use in the future.
>> JORDAN: Definitely, definitely.
Do you feel like you had like a kind
of entrepreneurial interests,
like back in college or anything like that?
'Cause that's kind of seems like you have that space
to kind of explore and, you know,
take on your own ideas at Toyota.
>> FRANK: So,
in college I would say I was creating ideas,
but I wasn't working on those ideas
because I didn't know how to do that.
>> JORDAN: Right.
>> FRANK: I think working at Toyota taught me the process more
in depth of how to build an ideal up,
whereas going to college has taught me the tools necessary
and work taught me how to use those tools in a sense.
>> JORDAN: And what is like the day to day life look like
for you?
Both, I guess in terms of work and just regular day.
>> FRANK: Pre COVID,
[laughs]
>> JORDAN: Day to day might look a little different.
>> FRANK: Yeah.
Pre COVID,
go to work,
check my emails.
You'll have a lot of.
For me,
you'll have a lot of emails from Japan.
Since Toyota is a Japanese company,
we have to communicate across seas to Japan
and other countries.
>> JORDAN: Right.
>> FRANK: You have to communicate properly.
So both sides can understand.
So that's, that's a, it's a challenging part,
but I love it
because I I'm just expanding how
to communicate with different cultures.
>> JORDAN: Definitely, definitely.
Yeah.
And they talk a lot about that.
I feel like in undergrad with the, you know,
having to have a global perspective in all the work
with a bunch of different types of people, so.
>> FRANK: Then I'll probably do some extra curricular activities
within Toyota.
We call it a BPG.
It's like,
like NSBE's and Swedes and stuff like that.
But at Toyota it's called AAC.
So I'll do some work with AAC
to make sure I'm still connected to the pipeline.
And then,
I don't know.
A lot of meetings after that,
[laughs]
when I return home
and try to work on some of my own businesses
and then go to sleep.
[laughs]
>> JORDAN: Working away, working, working, working.
I hear.
And now thinking back to college,
what were some of like your favorite memories or, you know,
some highlights and experiences
that you had while at Michigan?
>> FRANK: Some of my favorite memories is the NSBE meetings,
National Society of Black Engineers meetings every Friday
or every other Friday,
the food at those meetings.
[laughs]
You don't understand once you go to college.
The food.
>> JORDAN: No, the food is amazing at the meetings.
Yes.
>> FRANK: And just the common comradery,
comradery
of the NSBE chapter,
especially during certain times of the year
where things go downhill or things may happen.
That family definitely came in strong
and being able to contact them
and have them relate to what you're going through.
>> JORDAN: Right.
Definitely feel you on the NSBE part.
That's definitely what made
my own college experience kind of
come together and I have that community.
Do you feel like your time in college prepared you
or didn't prepare you for your current role
or I guess in what ways did it prepare?
>> FRANK: So a lot of times
for tests and in classes they,
before in class, you'll go through problems.
But once you reach the tests,
none of the problems that you saw in class would be
on that test.
>> JORDAN: Ever.
>> FRANK: So University of Michigan taught me,
gave me the tools and
for every test,
it was basically a new situation that I had the tools
to solve it.
So it gave me the ability to solve problems
that I didn't see before with the tools that I learned.
>> JORDAN: And if you were to kind of go back and give, I guess,
current students or prospective engineering students,
advice on how to make the most of college and you know,
like once you get into what,
what would you say to them,
especially those in your major who are double league.
>> FRANK: Freshman year I didn't know like who I was,
I was still learning, but by the time I left college,
I kind of had an understanding of like,
this is the things I like to do.
And this is the thing that I don't like to do
and had fun learning that process.
So
yeah.
Stay connected with your NSBE family
or family period
at University of Michigan.
Any, any group that you have at, at college,
you want to stay as close knit to them as possible because
in a lot of times,
those are the people that help you get through.
And then I guess the last thing is,
write down a base understanding of why you are,
where you are.
And don't forget that because a lot of situations
that you'll run into will try
to make you forget those things.
A lot of people you run into will try to make you forget
who you are and why you are there.
So always return back to your base
>> JORDAN: Right.
>> FRANK: and keep your faith and keep,
keep going 'cause the world need you
and I need you
[laughs]
it's just such a better place with you in the world.
>> JORDAN: Appreciate that.
Good things to live by.
For sure.
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