As a child, I found learning about the people who invented things we use today ,such as computers, appliances, and vehicles, really interesting. I never thought inventing was something I wanted to do because I did not think I fit the criteria. It was usually white men who made many of these groundbreaking discoveries and very rarely did I learn about a black woman's invention. As I grew up, my interests geared towards math and science, and I slowly realized I wanted to make blueprints, build things, and create systems. Because of the way the educational system in Africa is structured, I did not have the opportunity to do a lot of hands-on projects. Students in the United States had classes like woodwork while I was stuck drawing floor plans for buildings on paper. All these situations fueled my passion for mechanical design and engineering because I just wanted to have the opportunity to put my hands on something. Not many girls in my grade shared my interests and it often made me second guess what I wanted to study in college. I still held on to what I loved and came to the United States to study mechanical engineering. Coming here made me feel even more out of place. I joined so many engineering clubs and barely saw people who looked like me. I became even more intimidated because my calculus class alone had majorly White and Asian boys. I knew it was going to get worse as I got into my major engineering classes and it was something I did not look forward to. It has been a tough journey since then, but joining organizations at my university such as Women in Tech and the National Society of Black Engineers has made sticking to my major a lot easier. My long-term goal in STEM is to improve its diversity. Many young girls are discouraged by the presence boys have in STEM fields like engineering and it often never lets them consider certain STEM careers in the first place. I want to create an atmosphere where STEM appeals to females by creating programs for little girls to get involved in small-scale engineering projects, and talking to girls all over the world to inspire them to pursue STEM careers. College classes are already difficult, and having people in your class who can support you and learn with often makes classes easier. I often feel isolated in some classes because I find it hard to relate with the boys around me, but when I meet that one girl who is taking the class with me, it feels like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders. I do not want girls who choose STEM majors to experience that initial loneliness I felt. This is one thing that inspires me to keep going no matter what obstacle I face.

I did not grow up aspiring to be a woman in STEM, instead, I went on a continuous journey that helped me discover that my passions aligned with various STEM careers. People often praised me or thought I was incredibly smart for wanting to study engineering because I was a girl, but a lot of these praises felt very uncomfortable. I often wondered why many careers were seen as gender-dependent and why pursuing a certain career meant I was doing the impossible. Growing up as a young girl in Africa, I was used to notions like men were the doctors while women were the nurses that helped the male doctors. Not that there were not any female doctors, but society had made it seem like it was not a normal thing to see. Girls often said they wanted to be housewives, lawyers, or nurses, but never engineers. There were not many role models for me to look up to and I unconsciously strayed away from paths that involved engineering. As I grew older, I took more math and physics classes because they were compulsory and I found myself not only excelling in these subjects but enjoying them as well. I got used to being in classes where I was the only girl and sometimes it was uncomfortable and awkward. I wished there were more girls in those classes because the boys often engaged in conversations I knew nothing about or just was not interested in. I then came to the United States to study Mechanical Engineering, mainly because I enjoyed using manuals to put systems together, but the discomfort became even worse. There was not only a gender difference but a racial one as well. There was little to no diversity in many of my classes and that made me feel like I did not belong. I enjoyed many of my classes and reassured myself that I was in the right place, but why there were not many people of color studying engineering was a question I could not answer. I certainly was not the first person to notice this and began to do my research. I discovered that people of color often did not have access to opportunities that many other students had. Many nonprofits are trying to close the racial and gender gap in STEM fields by increasing the number of opportunities we have. After discovering this, I was more motivated to succeed in my chosen profession to serve as a role model to not just young black girls, but the whole black community as well. Increasing the opportunities is a very important step, but I also believe we need to encourage them to pursue careers in STEM. I love public speaking and want to be able to give speeches to encourage young people who look like me to discover their passions for STEM and increase the diversity in the workforce. I plan to give back to the black community in any way I can to create a more comfortable classroom, workplace, and environment for people of color because the last thing I want for anyone is to feel like they do not belong in a field they genuinely love.

I have never been one to read many books, but surprisingly the female leader who has inspired me a lot is an author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Adichie is a Nigerian author known for her ground-breaking novels, inspiring speeches, and large contribution to feminism in Africa. I knew she had written popular books like Half of a Yellow Sun and Purple Hibiscus, but what sparked my interest in her was her TED talk in 2013 titled "We should all be feminists". I only heard a very short part of this 30-minute-long speech in a popular Beyonce song- Flawless, but it was enough to make me look up the original speech. After watching the video, I was in awe at her confidence, diction, eloquence, and humor. It felt like she had connected with me on a personal level. She managed to persuade me to become a feminist and listen to every single one of her speeches. All her speeches interested me, regardless of what she talked about. She had a way of speaking to her audience that was so comforting and motivating. I quickly realized I wanted to have the same positive effect she had on me, on other people. As much as I feared public speaking, I wanted to stand in front of large crowds and motivate them to accomplish different goals. I was not always sure how I was going to do this until I started college. I never understood what it meant to be a woman in STEM. I chose to study Mechanical Engineering because I was genuinely interested in being involved in the field and wanted to invent different systems. It always felt like a calling for me and I never felt like I did not belong. In high school, I probably only took one class where I had been the only girl and it was never concerning. Starting college in the United States made me realize there was an evident lack of diversity in the field of engineering. I was in engineering classes of thirty with only four other girls. I joined engineering clubs where I was either the only person of color, the only female, or on less frequent occasions- both. The importance of being a woman in STEM then dawned on me, not many females pursued careers in STEM for reasons such as not believing they were jobs women could pursue. This realization led to my currently most important goal- motivating women to pursue careers in STEM. It is something many people have and are still putting so much effort into. Many young girls especially in countries in Africa still think a lot of STEM careers are gender-dependent. I also thought the same thing when I was younger. I want to influence young girls all over the world to pursue STEM careers just like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie influenced me to become a feminist.