Since birth, I’ve been taught that being a part of the Black community comes with great responsibility in presenting myself to the world and contributing to progress within my community. I’ve had many opportunities to participate in conversations and activities that promote social justice and awareness for my community. However, I believe my actual place within my community is helping to create more space for my community in STEM fields, particularly engineering. As a young Black man pursuing a career in engineering, I am often the only or one of a few participating in a STEM event or program. I am navigating my way to pursue a career in a rigorous field with limited representation and diversity. At times, it can feel like I do not belong. Because of this, I believe my place is contributing to and advocating for the change I want to see. Since middle school, the idea of designing and building sparked my interest in engineering. Developing and testing a prototype and troubleshooting a product I designed and built was how I envisioned my career. After gaining more exposure to various activities and spending six weeks as a Young Scholar in the WYSE Program this past summer, I realized that aerospace is my passion. Every day that I worked in the lab, I witnessed the importance of teamwork and the influence that diversity had on our team. Each team member had a different perspective. Having diversity in our points of view and suggestions and working alongside each other from our various backgrounds as we built our apparatus and collected data represented how the future should look. I want to carry this experience and utilize different perspectives to use STEM to find a way to manage climate change and save the planet. Our carbon footprint impacts the availability of clean air, clean water, and stable housing unimpacted by natural disasters. Millions lack access to basic necessities such as food, clean air, and clean water and this immediate need to survive does not give them the privilege of worrying about their carbon footprint or give them the chance to make reducing their carbon footprint a priority. I want to use STEM principles to ensure that all aspects of engineering are socially conscious and to allow individuals from all over the world and from various socioeconomic backgrounds to access and participate in solutions for climate change. I plan to work towards developing a technological solution to manage climate change by, first, making sure that various perspectives and backgrounds are included in the effort. Representation and inclusion matter. Without representation and inclusion, we handicap technology advances that can even consider the viewpoints and needs of those that are different from those traditionally included in solution building. Data has proven that diverse teams are more likely to solve problems and be innovative. I believe that technology is the key to addressing this global crisis and moving forward as a whole rather than potentially leaving vulnerable communities behind.

Since birth, I’ve been taught that being a part of the Black community comes with great responsibility in presenting myself to the world and contributing to progress within my community. I’ve had many opportunities to participate in conversations and activities that promote social justice and awareness for my community. However, I believe my actual place within my community is helping to create more space for my community in STEM fields, particularly engineering. As a young Black man pursuing a career in engineering, I am often the only or one of a few participating in a STEM event or program. I am navigating my way to pursue a career in a rigorous field with limited representation and diversity. At times, it can feel like I do not belong. Because of this, I believe my place is contributing to and advocating for the change I want to see. Since middle school, the idea of designing and building sparked my interest in engineering. Developing and testing a prototype and troubleshooting a product I designed and built was how I envisioned my career. After gaining more exposure to various activities and spending six weeks as a Young Scholar in the WYSE Program this past summer, I realized that aerospace is my passion. Every day that I worked in the lab, I witnessed the importance of teamwork and the influence that diversity had on our team. Each team member had a different perspective. Having diversity in our points of view and suggestions and working alongside each other from our various backgrounds as we built our apparatus and collected data represented how the future should look. I want to carry this experience and utilize different perspectives to use STEM to find a way to manage climate change and save the planet. Our carbon footprint impacts the availability of clean air, clean water, and stable housing unimpacted by natural disasters. Millions lack access to basic necessities such as food, clean air, and clean water and this immediate need to survive does not give them the privilege of worrying about their carbon footprint or give them the chance to make reducing their carbon footprint a priority. I want to use STEM principles to ensure that all aspects of engineering are socially conscious and to allow individuals from all over the world and from various socioeconomic backgrounds to access and participate in solutions for climate change I plan to work towards developing a technological solution to manage climate change by, first, making sure that various perspectives and backgrounds are included in the effort. Representation and inclusion matter. Without representation and inclusion, we handicap technology advances that can even consider the viewpoints and needs of those that are different from those traditionally included in solution building. Data has proven that diverse teams are more likely to solve problems and be innovative. I believe that technology is the key to addressing this global crisis and moving forward as a whole rather than potentially leaving vulnerable communities behind.

Since middle school, the idea of designing and building sparked my interest in engineering. Developing and testing a prototype and troubleshooting a product that I have designed and built was how I envisioned my career. After gaining more exposure to various activities and spending six weeks as a Young Scholar in the WYSE Program this past summer, I realized that aerospace is my passion. In the WYSE Program, my role in the lab was to measure and analyze light particles transmitted by the light guide. In addition to using a particle collider to recreate QGP, my lab partners and I built an apparatus to support the light guide we used to scan and measure light intensity resulting in improved data collection. Every day that I worked in the lab, I witnessed the importance of teamwork and the influence that diversity had on our team. Each team member had a different perspective. Having diversity in our points of view and suggestions and working alongside each other from our various backgrounds as we built our apparatus and collected data, represented how the future should look. I want to carry this experience and utilize different perspectives to use STEM to find a way to manage climate change and save the planet. Our carbon footprint impacts the availability of clean air, clean water, and stable housing unimpacted by natural disasters. Millions lack access to basic necessities such as food, clean air, and clean water and this immediate need to survive does not give them the privilege of worrying about their carbon footprint or give them the chance to make reducing their carbon footprint a priority. I want to use STEM principles to ensure that all aspects of engineering are socially conscious and to allow individuals from all over the world and from various socioeconomic backgrounds to access and participate in solutions for climate change. I plan to use STEM principles to work towards developing a technological solution to manage climate change by, first, making sure that various perspectives and backgrounds are included in the effort. Representation and inclusion matter. Without representation and inclusion, we handicap technology advances that can even consider the viewpoints and needs of those that are different from those traditionally included in solution building. Data has proven that diverse teams are more likely to solve problems and be innovative. I believe that technology is the key to addressing this global crisis and moving forward as a whole rather than potentially leaving vulnerable communities behind. By utilizing STEM principles, I want part of researching and designing prototypes that can reduce our carbon footprint, limit our carbon emissions and find the answers and solutions we need to save our planet.

Representation matters, and Black men are underrepresented in STEM fields. As a young Black man pursuing a career in an area where I see very little representation of those that look like me, I am often the only Black person or one of a few participating in a STEM event or program. Sometimes, it can feel like I do not belong, and I hate feeling out of place when I’m doing something I love so much. I hope to contribute to campus diversity is to give others that may feel out of place doing something they value a sense of belonging. I hope to contribute to and advocate for the change I want to see: more underrepresented minorities in engineering doing what they love and feeling like they belong. I was raised by a black single mom that pursued her dream of becoming a doctor. I remember her studying all the time and sometimes crying. I did not know what she was going through then, but I understood that she was working hard to become something she loved. My mom taught me what it meant to work hard to pursue your dreams. Her constant encouragement gave me the confidence to pursue activities and subjects that I loved, even when I didn’t feel comfortable being the only one that looked like me or was called a nerd by those that looked like me. I embraced the feeling that math and science were excellent despite what anyone thought about whether I belonged or was considered a nerd. I was lucky to find camaraderie and mentorship with my local National Society of Black Engineers chapter, which gave me a sense of belonging in engineering. I was also fortunate to have the opportunity to serve as the chair of my local chapter’s program committee and help organize events that could help more young Black men become interested in engineering. One of the biggest supporters was my grandmother. It was devastating when she unexpectedly passed away a few weeks after eighth-grade graduation. I had never lost a loved one before. I was determined to make her proud and started high school focused with a brave face. Months later, my school moved online, and I struggled with self-guided learning and felt isolated. My confidence was rocked, and I was stressed. I did not give up. I tried different study techniques and learned what I needed to thrive in online learning. I was patient with myself, managed my stress through exercise, and found a routine that worked best for me. I am most proud of my growth and learning how to process grief. With the experience, I learned that I cannot control what happens in my life but can control how I respond. When faced with adversity, I have a choice – give up or do something about it. I choose to do something about it. I now know who I am and what I need to be successful. As a student and a professional, I would contribute to diversity what my family gave to me – a safe space to be me and pursue interests that I love. I would work hard to create a positive environment for all, especially those that feel like they do not belong. I look forward to finding opportunities to share the wonder of engineering with local youth and mentoring underclassmen as I progress. Reminding them that everyone's journy is their own and every goal is obtainable.