I enjoy a challenge. From the time I was in grade school, I have had a strong passion for math and science. I thrive on the challenge of problem solving and enjoy providing well thought out solutions for others to reflect on and comprehend. I have a creative and collaborative mentality and look forward to the opportunity to bring great ideas to the table as well as contribute to the development of a strong community within my field of work. Biomedical Engineering offers the opportunity to be challenged, to be collaborative, and to create real solutions to problems. I relish a field that allows me to combine my interest and passion for science and math.I would like to contribute to an increase in the number of Black women in STEM. Often on social media I will come across posts of Black Women sharing their negative experiences with healthcare mainly due to the lack of Black representation and understanding. For example Black women are four times more likely to die during childbirth and it is largely due to racial prejudices and myths that persist among healthcare professionals despite evidence to the contrary. Many Black women have expressed that they gave birth to their children unassisted by healthcare professionals because they were not taken seriously. Another example is that Black people as a whole are denied or delayed certain medications to relieve pain because it is believed by many that Black people have high pain tolerance and therefore can't feel pain. Representation is important and I have been in many STEM classes where none of my classmates resembled me at all. The lack of representation can be intimidating and discouraging for Black women which is why after I complete school and become a professional in the STEM field I want to encourage and create programs that expose young Black women to STEM careers. We need to have more Black women or Black people in general as health care professionals in order to make personal and cultural connections with patients. These connections will allow members of the Black community to feeI seen, heard and comfortable in STEM spaces. Also by doing this I want to be able to inspire confidence and show young black girls that they can be successful in a field and society where they are underrepresented. I would like to travel to different schools as an ambassador of STEM to further reach out and encourage young Black girls to pursue a STEM career.

I enjoy a challenge. From the time I was in grade school, I have had a strong passion for math and science. I thrive on the challenge of problem solving and enjoy providing well thought out solutions for others to reflect on and comprehend. I have a creative and collaborative mentality and look forward to the opportunity to bring great ideas to the table as well as contribute to the development of a strong community within my field of work. Biomedical Engineering offers the opportunity to be challenged, to be collaborative, and to create real solutions to problems. I relish a field that allows me to combine my interest and passion for science and math.Being a Black woman in STEM has tremendously shaped my confidence. In 2019 I began my first intro to engineering course and the minute I stepped foot into the classroom I immediately noticed that I was the only Black woman in the entire room. It was completely unexpected being that all of my high school classes were diverse. I was extremely uncomfortable during the entire course. It was extremely hard for me to talk and ask my classmates for help. Being in a room full of people who didn’t look like me made me feel like I didn’t belong. I soon realized that this will be a recurring pattern in many of my other classes and future career. I decided that I would not let the lack of representation in the STEM field discourage me from pursuing my dream. I would push myself to raise my hand and ask questions in class. I started small by asking my peers questions about our assignments which would turn into full blown conversations about common interests. I was able to use Star Wars and anime as a way to connect to many of my peers. I’ve developed these coping techniques that make it easier to walk through the world of STEM as a Black woman. Less than 10 percent of STEM degrees are pursued by Black students. The lack of representation can be intimidating to Black students wanting to pursue a STEM career.The National Center for Education Statistics reports that in 2015 the percentage of Black women attending higher education institutions STEM degrees was less than 2.9 percent. Today I walked into my courses with my head held high and with more confidence than before. Dealing with this obstacle so early on in my college career has prepared me for the exact same obstacle in my future professional career.

I enjoy a challenge. From the time I was in grade school, I have had a strong passion for math and science. I thrive on the challenge of problem solving and enjoy providing well thought out solutions for others to reflect on and comprehend. I have a creative and collaborative mentality and look forward to the opportunity to bring great ideas to the table as well as contribute to the development of a strong community within my field of work. Biomedical Engineering offers the opportunity to be challenged, to be collaborative, and to create real solutions to problems. I relish a field that allows me to combine my interest and passion for science and math. During my career I would like to contribute to an increase in the number of Black women in STEM. Often on social media I will come across posts of Black Women sharing their negative experiences with healthcare mainly due to the lack of Black representation and understanding. For example Black women are four times more likely to die during childbirth and it is largely due to racial prejudices and myths that persist among healthcare professionals despite evidence to the contrary. Many Black women have expressed that they gave birth to their children unassisted by healthcare professionals because they were not taken seriously. Another example is that Black people as a whole are denied or delayed certain medications to relieve pain because it is believed by many that Black people have high pain tolerance and therefore can't feel pain. Representation is important and I have been in many STEM classes where none of my classmates resembled me at all. The lack of representation can be intimidating and discouraging for Black women which is why after I complete school and become a professional in the STEM field I want to encourage and create programs that expose young Black women to STEM careers. We need to have more Black women or Black people in general as health care professionals in order to make personal and cultural connections with patients. These connections will allow members of the Black community to feeI seen, heard and comfortable in STEM spaces. Also by doing this I want to be able to inspire confidence and show young black girls that they can be successful in a field and society where they are underrepresented. I would like to travel to different schools as an ambassador of STEM to further reach out and encourage young Black girls to pursue a STEM career.

I enjoy a challenge. From the time I was in grade school, I have had a strong passion for math and science. I thrive on the challenge of problem solving and enjoy providing well thought out solutions for others to reflect on and comprehend. I have a creative and collaborative mentality and look forward to the opportunity to bring great ideas to the table as well as contribute to the development of a strong community within my field of work. Biomedical Engineering offers the opportunity to be challenged, to be collaborative, and to create real solutions to problems. I relish a field that allows me to combine my interest and passion for science and math.I would like to contribute to an increase in the number of Black women in STEM. Often on social media I will come across posts of Black Women sharing their negative experiences with healthcare mainly due to the lack of Black representation and understanding. For example Black women are four times more likely to die during childbirth and it is largely due to racial prejudices and myths that persist among healthcare professionals despite evidence to the contrary. Many Black women have expressed that they gave birth to their children unassisted by healthcare professionals because they were not taken seriously. Another example is that Black people as a whole are denied or delayed certain medications to relieve pain because it is believed by many that Black people have high pain tolerance and therefore can't feel pain. Representation is important and I have been in many STEM classes where none of my classmates resembled me at all. The lack of representation can be intimidating and discouraging for Black women which is why after I complete school and become a professional in the STEM field I want to encourage and create programs that expose young Black women to STEM careers. We need to have more Black women or Black people in general as health care professionals in order to make personal and cultural connections with patients. These connections will allow members of the Black community to feeI seen, heard and comfortable in STEM spaces. Also by doing this I want to be able to inspire confidence and show young black girls that they can be successful in a field and society where they are underrepresented. I would like to travel to different schools as an ambassador of STEM to further reach out and encourage young Black girls to pursue a STEM career.

Being a Black woman in STEM has been the hardest obstacle to overcome so far. In 2019 I began my first intro to engineering course and the minute I stepped foot into the classroom I immediately noticed that I was the only Black woman in the entire room. It was completely unexpected being that all of my high school classes were diverse. I was extremely uncomfortable during the entire course. It was extremely hard for me to talk and ask my classmates for help. Being in a room full of people who didn’t look like me made me feel like I didn’t belong. I soon realized that this will be a recurring pattern in many of my other classes and future career. I decided that I would not let the lack of representation in the STEM field discourage me from pursuing my dream.I would push myself to raise my hand and ask questions in class. I started small by asking my peers questions about our assignments which would turn into full blown conversations about common interests. I was able to use Star Wars and anime as a way to connect to many of my peers. I’ve developed these coping techniques that make it easier to walk through the world of STEM as a Black woman.I would like to contribute to an increase in the number of Black women in STEM. The lack of representation can be intimidating and discouraging for Black women which is why after I complete school and become a professional in the STEM field I want to encourage and create programs that expose young Black women to STEM careers. I’ve learned that we need to have more Black women or Black people in general as health care professionals in order to make personal and cultural connections with patients. These connections will allow members of the Black community to feeI seen, heard and comfortable in STEM spaces. Also by doing this I want to be able to inspire confidence and show young black girls that they can be successful in a field and society where they are underrepresented. I would like to travel to different schools as an ambassador of STEM to further reach out and encourage young Black girls to pursue a STEM career. I would create workshops for people to come and learn how to use and set up lab equipment such as microscopes, pippets and petri dishes. We would also plan and execute experiments and develop researching skills. On I would join or create clubs so that young Black Women can connect through our identities and common interests.

Being a Black woman in STEM has tremendously shaped my confidence. In 2019 I began my first intro to engineering course and the minute I stepped foot into the classroom I immediately noticed that I was the only Black woman in the entire room. It was completely unexpected being that all of my high school classes were diverse. I was extremely uncomfortable during the entire course. It was extremely hard for me to talk and ask my classmates for help. Being in a room full of people who didn’t look like me made me feel like I didn’t belong. I soon realized that this will be a recurring pattern in many of my other classes and future career. I decided that I would not let the lack of representation in the STEM field discourage me from pursuing my dream.I would push myself to raise my hand and ask questions in class. I started small by asking my peers questions about our assignments which would turn into full blown conversations about common interests. I was able to use Star Wars and anime as a way to connect to many of my peers. I’ve developed these coping techniques that make it easier to walk through the world of STEM as a Black woman.I would like to contribute to an increase in the number of Black women in STEM. The lack of representation can be intimidating and discouraging for Black women which is why after I complete school and become a professional in the STEM field I want to encourage and create programs that expose young Black women to STEM careers. We need to have more Black women or Black people in general as health care professionals in order to make personal and cultural connections with patients. These connections will allow members of the Black community to feeI seen, heard and comfortable in STEM spaces. Also by doing this I want to be able to inspire confidence and show young black girls that they can be successful in a field and society where they are underrepresented. I would like to travel to different schools as an ambassador of STEM to further reach out and encourage young Black girls to pursue a STEM career. I would create workshops for people to come and learn how to use and set up lab equipment such as microscopes, pippets and petri dishes. We would also plan and execute experiments and develop researching skills. On I would join or create clubs so that young Black Women can connect through our identities and common interests.

Being a Black woman in STEM has tremendously shaped my confidence. In 2019 I began my first intro to engineering course and the minute I stepped foot into the classroom I immediately noticed that I was the only Black woman in the entire room. It was completely unexpected being that all of my high school classes were diverse. I was extremely uncomfortable during the entire course. It was extremely hard for me to talk and ask my classmates for help. Being in a room full of people who didn’t look like me made me feel like I didn’t belong. I soon realized that this will be a recurring pattern in many of my other classes and future career. I decided that I would not let the lack of representation in the STEM field discourage me from pursuing my dream.I would push myself to raise my hand and ask questions in class. I started small by asking my peers questions about our assignments which would turn into full blown conversations about common interests. I was able to use Star Wars and anime as a way to connect to many of my peers. I’ve developed these coping techniques that make it easier to walk through the world of STEM as a Black woman.I would like to contribute to an increase in the number of Black women in STEM. The lack of representation can be intimidating and discouraging for Black women which is why after I complete school and become a professional in the STEM field I want to encourage and create programs that expose young Black women to STEM careers. We need to have more Black women or Black people in general as health care professionals in order to make personal and cultural connections with patients. These connections will allow members of the Black community to feeI seen, heard and comfortable in STEM spaces. Also by doing this I want to be able to inspire confidence and show young black girls that they can be successful in a field and society where they are underrepresented. I would like to travel to different schools as an ambassador of STEM to further reach out and encourage young Black girls to pursue a STEM career. I would create workshops for people to come and learn how to use and set up lab equipment such as microscopes, pippets and petri dishes. We would also plan and execute experiments and develop researching skills. On I would join or create clubs so that young Black Women can connect through our identities and common interests.