Being a black engineer means being an example for those who come after me and not taking for granted the people who have fought hard before me. It is a blessing because I am becoming what folks from my community once thought was out of reach. Now, they see someone who came from their similar circumstances but fought through trials and tribulations and survived. I will not be looking down on them from the top because I will be bringing them up with me. It is important to me to support and be involved in programs that inspire people from the black and underprivileged communities to become professionals, regardless of the profession.

Purdue Engineering does a great job of providing Black students with a safe space to connect and network with other people that look like them in the Minority Engineering Program. Networking and outreach are the best way to ensure you have a support group and a safety net to fall onto and pick you back up again. This is important in the competitive and mentally taxing field of engineering.

I think Purdue Engineering could do a better job with recruitment and retention measures such as sending out faculty and students to school around the country to recruit and hiring Black faculty and staff. Also, connecting students to organizations such as the Black Graduate Student Association and the Black Student Union would help with networking and outreach internally.

I will continue to give back to my community and invest in the youth, as well as making sure there is a community and infrastructure set up at institutions like Purdue. This will ensure students feel welcomed and cared for. I am working with the Purdue Graduate Student Government and Purdue Student Government on a committee that creates solutions and pushes Purdue to tackle issues of racial injustice in its own backyard. Outside of Purdue, I am also starting a non-profit with a small group of friends that supports black students and entrepreneurs from my Alma-Mater Prairie View A&M University. I hope to expand this to cover many institutions. Additionally, I volunteer at the institutions where I attended grade school often speaking to students and plugging them into networking opportunities to secure their future. Continuing these endeavors, as well as remaining open minded will ensure that the Black community will have the support to continue to flourish long after I am gone.