Overall, the STEM stats regarding Black women are grim. Specifically, minority women comprise fewer than 1 in 10 scientists and engineers in the United States, according to the National Science Foundation (NSF). But at Florida A&M University (FAMU) the tide is changing. There, three female doctoral students, who also happen to be best friends, recently received their doctorates in engineering, bucking the current trend and helping to close the gender and race gap in STEM fields.
According to a news release:
On April 29, Miami native and Fulbright Scholar Renee Gordon received her doctorate of philosophy in mechanical engineering; Miami Beach native and Winifred Burks-Houck Professional Leadership awardee Shannon Anderson received her doctorate of philosophy in civil engineering, with a concentration in environmental engineering; and Birmingham, Alabama native and NSF International Research Experiences grantee Marcella Carnes received her doctorate of philosophy in civil engineering with a concentration in structures.
Each woman earned her doctorate degree at FAMU’s School of Graduate Studies and Research and was a participant in the FAMU-Florida State University College of Engineering Title III Funding Program.
“I feel proud to be an African-American woman in the STEM fields,” Carnes said. “There’s not that many of us (women). We’ve been challenged because STEM is male dominated, (but) we are examples of the things that you can set your mind toward and finish. We are no longer ‘Hidden Figures.’ We have definitely been revealed.”
Sadly, there could have been four Black female FAMU doctoral grads were it not for the sudden loss of colleague Tarra M. Beach, an environmental engineering doctoral candidate, who passed away in 2014 before she received her doctorate.
“She would have been the first woman to graduate with her engineering Ph.D., from the Title III program at FAMU. So, we were next in line to just follow her example, her dedication, her passion and drive,” Anderson said.
“Losing Tarra was very hard,” Carnes added. “She was driven toward education. She was so close to finishing and to know someone worked that hard and not necessarily reaped that benefit was emotionally draining for us. But it also let us know we are blessed to be here and that we can move on. Her legacy is that she believed in education and through us, and all women, she is here. Through our eyes, she has her Ph.D., because she was such a scholar.”
Our hats are off to Anderson, Carnes, and Gordon for their amazing accomplishment. Watch as the graduates speak more about what their degrees mean to them and to the STEM field as a whole in the video below.
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