Alumna Shank honored at BET’s Black Girls Rock awards

Screenshot of the BET Black Girls Rock! 2017 webpage, featuring alumna Suzanne Shank and other winners, Issa Rae, Maxine Waters, Natalie and Derrica Wilson, Roberta Flack, and Yara Shahidi.
 

Television network BET has honored civil engineering alumna Suzanne Shank with one of its 2017 Black Girls Rock! Awards.

Shank won the Shot Caller award for her trailblazing career on Wall Street, where she is chair, CEO and co-founder of municipal bond firm Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co.

“I am humbled to share the stage with these talented and dynamic black women,” Shank said at an awards ceremony recorded Aug. 5 and scheduled to air on the network Aug. 22. “I came from modest beginnings but had encouragement from my parents and mentors that allowed me to achieve a level of success I never imagined. I hope my path serves as an example and provides encouragement to girls and young women to dream big and to pursue their dreams fully.”

Shank shared the stage with the year’s other winners, including U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, singer Roberta Flack, and community organizers Derrica and Natalie Wilson.

“Investment bankers don’t often get to walk the red carpet, rub elbows with Hollywood A-listers and hold up statues,” she said, according to the Savannah Morning News. “It was a thrill and an honor to be recognized by Beverly Bond, the show’s creator, and BET.”

Earlier this year, Shank delivered the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s Hyatt Distinguished Alumni Leadership Lecture, where she talked about her rise on Wall Street and what she learned along the way.

Read more about Shank in the Savannah Morning News.