Showing up opened the door for Treyonna Alston to a career at Boeing.
ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Treyonna Alston did not have to attend Boeing Day at South Carolina State University.
No professor required it. No class assignment sent her there. As a sophomore, Alston
simply decided to show up, meet the Boeing representatives visiting campus and see
where the opportunity might lead.
That decision helped put her on a path to an internship with Boeing and, eventually,
a career with the aerospace company.
“It’s about just showing up and putting yourself out there,” Alston said.
Five years into her career, the 2021 SC State graduate is a facilities project manager
at Boeing South Carolina and a 2026 Waves of Change Technology Rising Star Award winner.
Alston will be honored at the Workforce Leadership Luncheon during the AI NEXTGEN
America Conference on Oct. 9 at the Baltimore Convention Center. For Alston, the recognition
reflects not only how far she has come professionally but also the university where
that journey began.
“I’m representing Boeing, but I’m also representing South Carolina State,” she said.
“I want to say thank you to South Carolina State for just giving me the opportunity
to be the person I am now,” she said.
From Boeing Day to Boeing
Alston’s connection with Boeing began during her sophomore year when she met a company
representative at Boeing Day on the SC State campus.
“Boeing Day definitely set me up for getting me into Boeing. Going there and talking
with them was nothing that was required by a class or anything. It was just something
I took upon myself and did,” Alston said.
She said the Boeing representative tweaked her résumé to help prepare her for career
readiness and educated her on the importance of soft skills when seeking employment.
“I did get an internship my sophomore year at the Charleston Aviation Authority, so
that helped me. I was an engineering intern. That was an experience that prepared
me for the Boeing internship I got my junior year,” Alston said.
When Alston encountered the Boeing representative again, she remembered her.
“I told her about my internship at the airport, and she was like, ‘I know the right
department for you.’ It’s about just showing up and putting yourself out there.
“You have that face-to-face contact. It showed my dedication to wanting the internship
or wanting a job there,” Alston said.
SC State Career Center Director Joseph B. Thomas Jr. said Alston took advantage of
the opportunities available to her as a student.
“Treyonna was a great student when she was at South Carolina State. She was very studious,
and she did all the things we asked her to do. She reaped the benefits of it by getting
that internship at Boeing,” Thomas said.
Thomas said Alston’s transition into full-time employment was followed by her willingness
to reach back and help other students.
“She did not sit still. She moved within. She’s continued to make moves, and while
she was there, she was always willing to give back and want to recruit more students.
We need more Treyonnas, not just from a student perspective, but from an alumni perspective,”
he said.
Thomas said the Career Center’s job fairs are important to student success.
“When corporations and employers come to SC State, they come for a reason: to provide
opportunities so they can start their careers. We want to put all of our students
in a good place. They don’t have to go to Atlanta, New York or anywhere like that.
Opportunities are there in their back door,” he said.
Building a career at Boeing
The Charleston native earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology
from SC State and a master’s degree in project management from The Citadel. She has
five years of experience managing facilities and aerospace projects.
At Boeing South Carolina, construction management, project planning and coordination
and facility operations are among the areas in which Alston provides support at the
airplane assembly facility in North Charleston.
“I pretty much touch everything from construction management, technologies, updating
different electrical systems we have across the site and a lot of other workplace
solutions,” Alston said.
She has developed experience in cost control, schedule development, change management
and cross-functional stakeholder engagement.
Alston has also served in roles across Global Real Estate & Facilities and Boeing
International Space Station, supporting complex construction and space hardware schedules.
Her efficiency and competence in fulfilling her multifaceted duties led to her designation
as a 2026 Waves of Change Technology Rising Star Award winner.
“I was so excited! When I was nominated, it was a surprise to me. … It was great to
know that someone acknowledged what I was doing, as well as recognized it as something
that could definitely be highlighted for everyone to see,” Alston said.
From recruit to recruiter
Alston’s relationship with Boeing has evolved from being a student seeking an opportunity
to helping other students prepare for their own careers.
As a recruiter and mentor, she has served as an HBCU Engagement Partner with Boeing
for five years. In that role, she has built diverse talent pipelines and supported
early-career conversion by hosting career development workshops on professional development,
interview readiness and résumé preparation.
For Alston, helping others enter the workplace also connects to the confidence she
developed at SC State and her desire to see greater representation in major companies.
“This award shows that I’m a big advocate for my school, as well as more diverse people
in our workplace and Boeing as a whole. I want to make sure that there are more people
like us in these big companies,” she said.
Alston said SC State provided resources to help with her career development, including
good professors and the Career Center.
“When you’re actually seeing someone in those companies who looks like you and knowing
that they went to the same school, you see that it is possible, and you can do it.
“You may need a little extra work or extra push, but don’t give up just because you
got one denial or one person said something to you that did not lift you up,” she
said.
Alston said she keeps in contact with professors and other officials from SC State.
“South Carolina State will always be in my heart. We do have a big name. We do put
out top talent, and we do have students who are dedicated to their education and go
above and beyond. We’ve shown this many times,” she said.
