Two Auburn Engineering alumnae honored at Black Alumni Weekend

Antoria Guerrier, ’00 electrical engineering, and Regenia Sanders, ’95 mechanical engineering, were honored Sunday as part of Auburn University’s Black Alumni Weekend.

The annual reunion weekend included college luncheons, panel discussions and the Black Alumni Awards Brunch.

Guerrier, president of The Arnold Group in Kennesaw, Georgia, was honored with the Black Alumni Award. Representing the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, Guerrier is one of 10 recipients from several colleges at Auburn. This award ‘recognizes recipients for outstanding achievements in their professional lives, personal integrity and stature and service to the university.’

Guerrier is an executive board member of 100+ Women Strong and serves on the Advisory Board for Auburn University Special Projects and Initiatives. She established the Antoria Arnold Endowed scholarship in engineering and is a member of the Weatherby Society. 

Despite her ongoing commitment to Auburn Engineering, Guerrier was surprised to learn of her selection for this award.

“All of these things that I’m heavily involved with are things that I’m passionate about and enjoy. That’s why it was so surprising to me to be recognized,” she said. “For me, it’s just important to pay it forward because of those who paid it forward for me.”

Influenced by the founding director of the Center for Inclusive Engineering Excellence Dr. Dennis Weatherby, Guerrier made the decision to come to Auburn after attending the Minority Introduction to Engineering program in high school.

“Ultimately my biggest goal is to get more African Americans to come to Auburn and retain them in engineering,” Guerrier said. “If they can see you, they can be you.”

Sanders, a principal at Ernst & Young, is a member of the Alumni Engineering Council and supports an endowed scholarship for women in engineering.

A 2021 recipient of the Distinguished Auburn Engineer award, Sanders is the inaugural recipient of the Franklin Brittain Matthew Award, which was established to ‘recognize and honor outstanding Black Alumni who are stellar leaders to the Auburn University community, their college and schools, and in their local communities through professional, volunteer, or personal contributions.’

“Both personally and professionally, being recognized by your peers is always meaningful,” Sanders said. “This inaugural award in particular means even more because of the individuals for whom it’s named. Dr. Harold Franklin and Dr. Josetta Brittain-Matthews are respectively the first black student to enroll and attend and the first black graduate and faculty member at Auburn.”

Sanders has remained involved with Auburn in recognition of the foundation it was for her career and hopes to be an example for current and future Auburn engineers.

“Giving back to the institution that was instrumental in shaping the person that I have become is a no-brainer for me,” she said.