Rising to the challenge
UD alum shares experiences and wisdom with students in RISE Program
3:34 p.m., June 30, 2015--When Frank Frisby was about to graduate from the University of Delaware in 2010, he asked academic program manager Marianne Johnson if he could be the keynote speaker at the RISE Program banquet in May.
The answer was no.
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“You have to go away and come back when you have some experiences to share,” she told the civil engineering student.
In 2015, Frisby found himself on the podium at the banquet, facing students who had been in his seat just five years earlier. And by then, he was able to share not only experiences but also wisdom.
Frisby told the audience that during his senior year at UD, he began to develop a new agenda in his life.
“I knew that just becoming an engineer wasn’t all that I wanted to do,” he said. “I had a passion to change our national infrastructure. I knew that this would take time and significant resources. But it’s not about where you start. It’s not even about how fast you are treading. It’s about testing yourself every day to greater limits.”
Frisby is now testing his own limits every day.
He works fulltime for the U.S. Department of Defense as a subcontractor developing software systems for the Army at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. At the same time, he is growing his own company, Xspect, which is geared toward improving infrastructure systems by optimizing operations through a modular approach.
The young entrepreneur started out planning to be an architect but a friend talked him into going to UD, which didn’t have an architecture program but did offer civil engineering.
“I’m glad I ended up at Delaware,” he says. “Two programs there, RISE and McNair, had a tremendous impact on me. Through RISE, I formed some of the most significant relationships in my life, and McNair helped lead me to grad school.”
Frisby refers to his RISE friends as “brothers,” and the master’s degree in advanced infrastructure systems that he earned at Carnegie-Mellon University added to the tools and knowledge he needed to start his company.
“I believe that every step I’ve taken, whether it’s a failure or a success at the time, ultimately ends up as a success,” he says.
He credits his parents, Frank and Monique Frisby, with encouraging him to always challenge himself.
“They fostered an environment where the only comparison you should care about is your better self,” he says.
Frisby won’t put a timeline on when he can give up his day job and devote full time to his business. He and his wife are expecting a baby in October, a life change that he is grateful to have. He says he’s working hard to implement a solid structure so that he doesn’t lose momentum.
But as he told the students in his banquet speech, “As you move forward, do not get upset with where you are because I firmly believe that where you are has a purpose. It is the little intricate details nestled deep within each circumstance that build the capacity and ingenuity to help you when the time is right. Trivial things might be the catalyst that will change your life.”
Frisby also encouraged the students to reflect every day on their innovation and their passion.
“Build your resume on merit because of loving what you do,” he said. “You have to love what you do.”
About Frank Frisby
A native of Delaware, Frank Frisby currently lives in Newark. He attended William Penn High School and is married to the former Marina Caldwell, who graduated from Dover High School and earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Delaware in medical technology in 2009. She works at St. Francis Hospital.
In 2008, Frisby won the Marcellus Davis Scholarship Award at UD in recognition of his work ethic.
About the RISE Program
The College of Engineering at the University of Delaware is host to one of the nation’s earliest and most successful minority engineering programs. The mission of the RISE (Resources to Insure Successful Engineers) program, which was established in 1972, is to recruit and encourage academically prepared students who are members of groups that are underrepresented in engineering.
Currently, RISE students comprise approximately 9 percent of the engineering student body, and their overall retention rate is comparable to that of the engineering student body as a whole. RISE has a full-time director and staff who work closely with faculty to provide the support needed for success in the challenging engineering curricula.
About the McNair Scholars Program
The federally funded Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program, known as the McNair Scholars Program, offers effective preparation for doctoral study to low-income, first-generation college students and students from groups underrepresented in graduate education. McNair Scholars participate in extensive undergraduate research internships in their field of interest. Currently, 152 McNair Programs are funded at colleges and universities across the U.S.
Article by Diane Kukich
Photo by Kevin Quinlan