Sherlock Banks
Sherlock Banks II is from Hampton City, Virginia and is a senior pursuing his B.S. in Civil Engineering and upon graduation will complete his Masters in Engineering Management with a focus on Infrastructure Investments, and has a 3.79 GPA. Sherlock says the best thing about being a Virginia Tech engineer is having the genuine and collaborative support of faculty, and the non-competitive network of engineering college colleagues. Now that he is 22 and has a vision for what his future will be; Sherlock strives to create and own an interdisciplinary engineering firm that will firmly stand on the principles of giving back through sustainable infrastructure projects and economic community investments as well. If his business is not in his hometown, he will devote time and effort into growing the Hampton Roads area of Virginia into a stronger arena for STEM awareness. Sherlock stated that if he could change only one thing, he would change the economic divide that has been affecting his African American people since 1619. He says that to change this, he needs to spread the awareness of Financial Literacy, and to break the mental shackles that have held his people down from investing in their God-given future.
When Sherlock was in middle school, his dream was to become an engineer and give back to the communities in his hometown. Now, through CEED and the College of Engineering, he is involved in the Help Me Help You (HMHY) program that is run by Dr. Waller, and he is also a member of the Multicultural Academic Opportunities Program (MAOP) which is run by Monica Hunter. Currently Sherlock’s volunteer service is to give back to his fellow Virginia Tech students and the Virginian engineers with his passion for legislative politics and engineering. He is serving as the 2021-22 Undergraduate Fellow for the Vice President of Student Affairs (VPSA) and he is working with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)’s Virginia section to build an Engineering Interactive Map for the 100th annual Centennial Celebration of the Virginia Section chapter.
Sherlock has numerous hobbies, and when hes not working or in school, he loves spending time with his family and girlfriend, reading The Bible and business/self development books, researching the fundamentals of a business so he can buy their stock, exercising, and playing volleyball. Sherlock’s favorite films are Inception, Limitless, and The Big Short. He also added that he listens to all genres of music, but on a frequent basis he listens to Hip-Hop, R&B, Jazz, Gospel, and Alternative. He ranked Hip-Hop to be his favorite with Jazz being his runner-up. Lastly, he mentioned Iron Man as his favorite cartoon character. This is because he leverages his technical intelligence and financial wealth to help his society and universe(s). This character is an inspiration for him because he believes that it’s his God-given purpose to do the same thing in engineering and finance; to give back without expecting anything else in return.
Sherlock mentioned that one of his role models is his mother, Sheryl Banks. Since the beginning it was only him and his mom. She truly showed him what it meant to never give up on what God has given you, how to place faith in what he can be in this world, taught him true happiness can/will be found inwardly if you never let go of who God has made you to be, and she showed him what it means to be grateful for the love that is in life. He will forever give his role model whatever she needs. Lastly, he stated that his mom told him that her “sacrifice” to become a single mom wasn’t her sacrifice, but it was her love for him that kept her going. Even with his mom as his role model, he still gives his sister praise, mentioning that she just graduated from Norfolk State with her second Masters Degree and will soon be a nationwide travel nurse.