Jason T. Roe
2000 Bachelor of Science
School of Engineering

Jason T. Roe completed his Bachelor of Science degree from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Engineering about the same time that his wife-to-be, Erin Henretta Roe, finished her bachelor's at VCU. The couple decided to make Richmond, Va., their home, which led to the start of a prosperous career for Roe.

When Roe began with Chester, Va.-based ERNI Electronics in 2000, the company was in an explosive beginnings phase.

"The first six months were unbelievable, as the company was growing so fast we could not keep up with the demands for our products," Roe says. "Our components were used primarily in
data communication systems, like routers and switches from vendors such as Cisco, Alcatel, Nokia and Dell."

He catapulted his way through the ranks, landing in positions such as quality manager, production manager, operations manager, applications engineer, senior applications engineer and engineering manager. As Roe's career developed, so did ERNI. The company eventually grew into a $16 million international distribution, sales, engineering and manufacturing organization that provides connectors, cable assemblies and integrated systems to customers in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

In January 2010, ERNI's CEO handed the reins over to Roe, appointing him president.
In addition to his various roles with ERNI, Roe served as a VCU School of Engineering Alumni Board member from 2005-07 and was a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers from 2000-03. He has been a member of the Institute for Printed Circuits since 2006.

Looking back on his early college days, Roe admits that even he would not have expected
the sort of success and involvement his career has found.

"My first interaction with VCU and the School of Engineering was the one that changed me the most," he says. "I had been struggling to find myself academically, bouncing from Virginia Tech to community college, when I met up with one of the career counselors. Ultimately they took a chance on me even though my past performance left a little to be desired."

As it turns out, the counselor's instincts were correct. Roe was given one semester to prove himself. Three years later, he graduated cum laude among VCU's first class of electrical engineers.

"The next chapter of my life is about to begin," Roe says.