NAF Student Speaker Reflection – Benefit 2024

Good evening. My name is King Muhammad. I am a junior at the NAF Academy of Engineering at Phelps A.C.E. High School in Washington, DC.

Before I tell you a little about myself, I have a question for you all. Can you tell me what Transformers, Iron Man, and Kung Fu movies have in common? No answers …? I guess I have to tell you the answer: Blacksmithing. Applying creativity to the physical realm.

Since I can remember, I’ve always aspired to a career as a Professional Blacksmith. Sure, that’s not a traditional career you hear nowadays, but continuing a family legacy drives me. The blacksmith trade is in the family … My grandfather on my mom’s side is a carpenter and an actor. He built and fixed most of the items in his home, even making a shed from scratch in his backyard. He even showed me how to use a few of his tools. And my grandfather on my dad’s side was a jeweler who worked with all kinds of metal like gold, silver, and even copper, which also inspired my passion to be a blacksmith.

The rest of my family also inspired me. See, I’m a self-trained martial artist, and watching those movies with my dad as a kid brought the action to life for me because I wanted to create my own training weapons with my hands, like a wooden sword. I learned about budgeting and saving from my Nana. I learned passion from my mom, a West African dancer who gets paid to do her passion. They taught me to hold onto my dreams close so I could make them a reality.

I want to be the person someone can rely on to fix problems like forging, rust restoration, tool selling, and more. I’ve always liked to work with my hands while being paired with my creativity to build some of the most vivid tools to help my community and beyond.

I enrolled at Phelps because of its reputation for having stellar NAF academy STEM programs. I was curious about their engineering courses, and I figured it would be a great foundation for my blacksmith goals.

I like being part of the NAF academy because I can connect with classmates who share my passion for engineering and entrepreneurship. Thanks to the support of RTX, every day is exciting and challenging, from scholarships to apprenticeships, hands-on learning, and state-of-the-art equipment like AirWolf 3D printers, computers donated by RTX for certification courses, and screwdrivers with different heads that work with most of the supplies we need for projects.

Some projects I’ve done include house model projects that focus on the different parts of a house, including the structure and installation. I was also chosen to lead a team of freshmen against other teams in my school for a bridge competition.

It was a fun exercise where I supported and inspired the younger generation to love engineering like I do. With great communication and some test runs, we made a strong suspension bridge that led us to win the competition.

I even won a $35,000 scholarship to Stetson University next year. As I get closer to graduation, it’s great to know I have options to pursue my dreams.

Some of the skills I’ve learned through the academy have been communication, advanced leadership skills, and more. When I was younger, I led Buddhist meetings and performed in shows that gave me confidence and fundamental communication skills. Still, the academy helped refine my communication, which then allowed me to showcase leadership and trust my own ideas.

I’ve also studied mainly Blacksmithing concepts used in engineering, which help me excel in my class like sketching designs and paying attention to the detail of my product.

After graduation, I plan to go to either a trade school or college, and with the skills, confidence, experience, and industry relationships I have gained, I feel ready to take on my next chapter.

That’s why investing in students like me and the hundred thousand more in NAF academies across the country, can make a difference for our futures.

Let me leave you with this piece of advice: “Life is like Blacksmithing. You have to hammer it and temper it to a fine tool that serves you, not the other way around.”