I would describe my interest in sustainable textile fibers as an "if you give a mouse a cookie" situation. My sister gave me a crochet kit as a gift before my junior year of high school. Then I decided I needed more yarn to practice. Then I decided I needed a yarn collection. After that, I realized that most yarns I could afford were unsustainable, so I wanted to learn how to make yarn. Which eventually led to me working towards a career in making sustainable textiles. The issues I found with my yarn are universal in nearly all parts of the textile and fashion industry. The most common synthetic fibers like polyester and acrylic are made from petroleum-based plastics and are damaging to the environment during production and as non-biodegradable waste. Cotton despite being natural is still not a great sustainable alternative (cotton production uses 25% of all insecticides and 11% of all pesticides used globally while requiring 29 tons of water per kilogram of cotton.) Many other natural fibers have similar issues or are simply more expensive. Not to mention the carbon emissions from transport during processing, manufacturing, and to the store are an issue for any fiber that isn’t sourced locally. Many textiles and clothing items go through multiple countries just to make it to the consumer. With those issues in mind, the journey to make yarn began. My main goal was to find a cost-effective natural textile fiber that could be produced close to the consumer (which was just me at the time) using fewer resources. Currently, my focus is on bacterial cellulose as a possible solution. Cellulose is a core component in most natural plant fibers and bacterial cellulose aligns with my goals. Companies such as Nullabor and Modern Synthesis already create textile products from bacterial cellulose. However, bacterial cellulose is still a relatively new material, and processing bacterial cellulose into yarn without expensive machinery or possibly harmful chemicals wasn’t on the table. Which led me to focus on sustainable textile fibers as a career path. There is a lot of room for improvement for sustainable and versatile solutions involving bacterial cellulose. Eventually, I would also like to branch out into designing other textile materials and maybe even single-use plastics through scientific research. From crochet to a career, I aspire to make the planet a better place long term. I hope to dedicate myself to the creation of thoughtfully designed materials that are sustainable in every way.

There are a lot of things I imagine when I think of my future, the career I want, and how I want to contribute to society as an african American, and woman. Two of the most important things I imagine in that are innovation, and inclusion. To start, innovation is one of the main reasons I'm pursuing my dream career in the first place. I want to be an environmental engineer and create a future that is not only beautiful but sustainable and hopeful. A world with cities full of greenery, art and well built infrastructure for all it's citizens. Urban farming, green roofs, clean water, walkable cities, good transportation systems, good environments for children and the elderly and so much more can be achieved with innovation. Humanity is constantly going above and beyond do better and better. Despite recent developments and fear for the climate, our planet, and the future of young people like me I still think humanity as a whole is capable of overcoming these issues. I believe that environmental engineering is the best way for me to help with that in the future. Not only that, but many of these things cannot be achieved without inclusion. Accessibility for disabled and marginalized communities is so important to many fields including engineering. Knowing how to create building and infrastructure that is are and accessible to everyone is incredibly important for a better future. I personally happen to have ADHD and autism so I'm particularly interested in both mental and physical disabilities and the accommodations needed for everyone to thrive within society. It's so important to encourage diversity so everyone's perspective on even the littlest things can be represented and accounted for. Including the many perspectives bipoc, and lgbtq+ communities can add to the conversation through their personal experiences and ideas. Some things seem small but mean the entire world to marginalized communities and you can almost always tell when marginalized groups are an afterthought. Which is why engineering and design everything matters and that makes inclusion matter so much more. At the end of the day, I prioritize a better almost dreamlike future for myself and everyone around me. To create an innovative and inclusive workplace is the first step to creating a better future for all. Every group big and small should be included and given a chance to thrive. I hope my pursuit of environmental engineering will truly result in something good. I hope that as I do it I can also inspire others of marginalized groups who are similar to me to pursue these things too.