My name is William Jordan Owens. I am from Cleveland, Ohio and currently, I am 19 years old. Being recognized as a potential candidate for the program REAL Recognize REAL is understood to be an honor given and has also brought awareness to the fact that I could use a platform such as this program to open to kids about my struggles, and how I can be a role-model to those who are facing the same challenges. One of the many struggles I wish to talk about is growing up in a community different from my culture and background. Since I was 6 years old, I lived and grew up in a predominantly Jewish community called Beachwood in which I attended Beachwood Public schools up until my 2022 senior year.
Throughout those adolescent years, I endured many harsh realities including discrimination, racism, and exclusion. I experienced these struggles on many occasions, whether it was my academic, social, or athletic life playing baseball. One of the many experiences I had which affected me was when I had to quit my high school baseball team my junior year because of the trauma I endured being one of the few Black people on the team, while also being the only Black person to make the Varsity roster since freshman year. The decision I made could have been permanent. But I loved playing the sport and through my persevering attitude with the support of my parents, decided not to give up.
Through the time of my absence, I trained harder, and by the time of my senior year, I returned to the team with a new approach and mindset. I was elected team captain and while performing to the best of my abilities, I also made constant efforts to demote the cultural tension on the team. These efforts also played a part in my academic role, as I was elected president of the school’s Minority Achievement Committee my senior year as well, also known as MAC Scholars, in which we were known as a society who promoted the excellence and achievements of students of minority backgrounds. Additionally academic wise, I was a member of the National Honors Society in which I would partake in acts of charity and assist kids in academic programs to benefit their education.
As of right now, I am in college attending the Indiana Institute of Technology, also known as Indiana Tech, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. My major consists of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. I also play college baseball, but as a result of my subpar academic performance which I am currently correcting before the end of my semester, I had to take a break from the baseball team. For school activities, I am an active member in the National Society for Black Engineers also known as NSBE, in which I am on the executive board serving as a parliamentarian. My role as a parliamentarian consists of receiving critical information from the president of my chapter to pass down to the general public of the society in which it will benefit them as well.
Through my profound performance in high school, I was able to receive an academic scholarship through Indiana Tech in which I received one of the top scholarships given by the institution. As a result, I have been working with a group of other scholar recipients in orchestrating charity event projects not only to help the general student body, but to also help the community of Fort Wayne. Outside of school, I recently received a job opportunity with Swagelok Inc., which is a quality production company affiliated back home in Cleveland. I received the chance to intern with them in the summer of 2023 as an assembly engineer. Additionally, I also have become an active member in the church as well. In Fort Wayne, I was able to help one of my mentors at his church called Turner Chapel, serving and cooking breakfast for other church members on occasion.
In the future, I plan on graduating from Indiana Tech with a Bachelor of Science degree in my major of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering in May of 2025, along with achieving my minor in Project Management. After graduating from Indiana Tech, I plan to follow up with an additional year of school at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University to achieve a master’s degree in industrial engineering in which I will earn in May of 2026. Moving forward with my life, I always had a passion to play Major League Baseball and make music professionally.
If these plans do not happen accordingly, I intend to manage a career in the same industrial field while maintaining a position with Swagelok, but also looking for additional job opportunities in other parts of the country. I do not wish to travel very far from Ohio, but I would desire living in states such as North Carolina and Georgia due to their warm geographical climates. My additional hopes and dreams are to be happily married with kids later in life. I also would like to be a spokesperson for youth children in hopes of connecting with them and showing them that there are no challenges that are too impossible to accomplish or persevere through. For that is the motivation for what I live by and will continue to inspire others with the same mindset.
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