When Frank T. Joshua, Jr. was young, growing up in New Orleans, his mom knew how to motivate her son. He played sports and “was into everything,” recalls Zolee Thomas, but above all other activities, he loved playing in the band. It became her magic wand.
“It was like, ‘if you don’t write your English paper, you can’t go to band practice,’” she says. “I don’t care how tired Frank was. He would say, ‘Oh no, I’m going to band practice.’ It was a gentle nudge. Worked every time. ‘If you are too tired to do homework, you won’t be going to band practice.’ Boom! The homework was done, and Frank went to band practice. It was almost like I could bribe him to do anything once he joined the band because he loved it so much.”
Today, Frank’s achievements still stand out, and yes, he is in a band.
Frank earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Prairie View A&M University, where he was a drum major in their famous “Marching Storm” band. Further, Frank is the onsite project manager for D.E. Harvey Builders for a significant project in Houston. Frank is responsible for the maintenance facility under construction at the Port of Houston. It’s about 70,000 square feet, with a car wash, a gas station, and a guardhouse. His job is to ensure all the moving construction parts are coordinated and move along smoothly. It’s a big job.
“As a project manager, I take the engineer’s designs and the client’s vision from those designs and make sure it happens the way the client wants it,” Frank says. “When the engineer and architect need certain materials, I ensure they get them. I find the subcontracts we need and deal with everything from paperwork to the right wood, flooring, fixtures, lighting, and everything else we use. I find the right sources at the right prices. I must ensure the client’s expectations are met and we come in on budget.”
As a child, Frank was always trying to figure out how and why things worked the way they did. “I always wanted to take on a challenge or take stuff apart. I used to take doorknobs off. I took my Xbox apart when it broke,” he says. “I asked my parents, ‘How can I do this?’ For a career, they said you could become an engineer. At a young age, I didn’t know what that was. I did my research. They introduced me to engineers that they knew. And it made me want to be an engineer. “
By the time he was a teenager, Frank was also passionate about math. In the ninth grade, his teacher sent a note home. “We are considering Frank for honors math and need approval from his parents.” Ms. Thomas says she replied: “Sure.” Only four students were in the honors math class at St. Augustine’s High School. Her Frank was exceptional. He made the extraordinary journey from a Black community to being a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) leader. Like many others, his experiences at STEM NOLA, a premier STEM education program in New Orleans, were instrumental in his success.
“He was awesome,” his mom says. “He did great. I remember thinking, ‘he’s really strong.’
Not even being forced to relocate because of Hurricane Katrina could not derail Frank. When Katrina hit, he had to move to Houston with his mother for middle school while his father, a successful system accountant, went to live in Dallas. Moving to Houston allowed Frank to explore music, and he loved being in the band. “I kind of got introduced to music,” he says. “I knew nothing about the band until I got to Houston.” He plays the baritone and other instruments.
Frank was connected to STEM NOLA during his senior year of high school. Dr. Calvin Mackie, who runs STEM NOLA and STEM Global Action, teaches K-12 students about STEM through hands-on activities that he brings to their communities. At STEM Fests and STEM Saturdays, students build motorized cars and flying drones, dissect animals, experiment with water and wind, and perform hundreds of other experiments and activities.
“It challenged my mind,” Frank says of attending STEM events. “It challenged me. It makes you think analytically before you even set foot in college. It taught me to take an instructional manual and learn the steps, process them, and understand the processes. Honestly, I was exposed to much more than engineering. We did science projects, like dissecting animals. It allowed us to see if these activities were something you like and might want to do in the future. You can get in trouble when you’re a kid and pick up a bug. But we were allowed to pick up bugs and other stuff. Touching these things allowed us to learn and grow. I wish I had started at STEM NOLA even earlier.”
At STEM NOLA, Frank says he worked alongside six-year-olds, middle schoolers, and elementary school students. “We were all challenged,” he says. “It was exciting, interactive, and fun. We were working with professionals, and it gave us great exposure.”
Moreover, Frank built a bond with Dr. Mackie, a former tenured engineering professor at Tulane University, who holds multiple degrees in mechanical engineering. “We clicked right off,” Frank says. “He is a mechanical engineer. I remember thinking. ‘You are what I am about to go off and try to become.’ I better understood why he had us doing the projects that we did. One thing I love about Dr. Mackie is that I can always call him. We have good conversations. I call to ask questions. He has been a great help to me.”
What next?
“Entrepreneurship, honestly,” Frank says. “I want to remain in the construction industry because I have a niche for it. I have a real passion for it. I want to take all the skills I’m building here, work for other companies, grow my portfolio, and grow my skills until I can become a developer. But I need to see firsthand how a developer’s mind works. Developers have to look at the whole picture. They look at the land now and then the land once the building is there. And they have to know how that building will generate revenue. They need to see the whole picture. Entrepreneurship is deeply embedded in my roots.”
His mother believes he will make it.
“He’s determined to reach these goals, and he’s so driven that, you know, sometimes I have to sit back and say to him, ‘Make sure you enjoy the journey,’ ” says Thomas, who has computer science and business administration degrees. “I don’t see how he does everything he does in a day. He works far from where he lives, so he gets up super early and travels to work. Because he still loves band, he’s in an All-Star band in Houston, so he does this band thing in the evening. Then he tells me, oh, well, I’m leaving band practice. I’m going to the gym and work out for a little while. I’m like, wait; you’re not tired?”
Frank’s favorite life guidance comes from a Maya Angelou quote urging us to learn from our mistakes: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
It guides Frank to success.