Dr. Ruby Mendenhall and three rising Class of 2021 Seniors, Tolulope Adejuyigbe, Roaa Marei, and Nilah Marshall join C2ST to discuss how non-white STEM students experience racism through in college and beyond. She’ll also detail how racial microaggressions affect BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students’ health and sense of belonging in STEM.

Microagressions include a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority. By moving away from less-inclusive terms like “marginalized” and “minority,” we humanize the language applied to our peers. This program seeks to address the impacts of cultural insensitivity on the BIPOC population and what can be done to better support their inclusion and success in STEM fields. Register now to participate in a frank discussion on the experiences of BIPOC students in STEM and why advocacy is critical. Learn what you can do to become a better ally!

Event Details:

Thursday, June 10th, 2021, 4:00 pm - 4:45 pm CT, C2ST Facebook Live & C2ST TV Youtube Live.

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Featured Speaker:

Ruby Mendenhall, PhD, Associate Professor of Sociology, African American Studies, Urban and Regional Planning, Gender and Women’s Studies and Social Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Ruby Mendenhall’s research examines how life in racially segregated neighborhoods with high violence levels affects the mental and physical health of Black mothers. Her multiple sources of data include surveys, interviews, crime statistics, police records, data from 911 calls, art, wearable sensors, and genomic analysis. She examines the Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC) role in social mobility and health outcomes, and the medicalization of poverty. She is interested in how families use their EITC to secure affordable and safe housing. She studies the effects of racial microaggressions on students of color health and sense of belonging on predominantly white campuses. She also employs big data to recover Black women’s lost history using topic modeling and data visualization to examine over 800,000 documents from 1740 to 2014.

Mendenhall is an Associate Professor of Sociology, African American Studies, Urban and Regional Planning, Gender and Women’s Studies, and Social Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is an affiliate of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology; Women and Gender in Global Perspectives; the Cline Center for Advanced Social Research; Epstein Health Law and Policy Program; Family Law and Policy Program and the Institute for Computing in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. Mendenhall is the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Democratization of Health Innovation at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine.

Guest Moderator:

Nilah Marshall, Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Class of 2021

Nilah Marshall is a graduating senior from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School. She plans to attend Xavier University in Louisiana to major in Chemistry with a Dual Degree in Chemical Engineering. When she was younger, she was drawn to astronomy, neuroscience, marine biology, meteorology, and geology. She would collect rocks, track the weather, watch science-centered documentaries on National Geographic, and even observe the insects in her backyard, but from a distance, so she wouldn’t get too freaked out. Nilah also loves scientific instruments. When she was eight years old, she bought her own magnifying glass and carried it with her everywhere to explore the environment and sought to understand the world through a whole new lens. 

The Science Storms exhibit at The Museum of Science and Industry is one of her favorite memories in which she first developed a true fascination for STEM. Nilah enjoys learning about the world, how it works, and why it works the way that it does. Her interest in STEM allows her to see how she can problem solve and help improve the world around her. Currently, her scientific interests are primarily focused on biology and chemistry, but recently she has also developed interests in engineering and computer science. She intends to pursue higher education in chemical & biological engineering, bioinformatics, and computer science. 

Guest Moderator:

Roaa Marei, East Leyden High School, Class of 2021

Roaa Marei is a graduate of East Leyden High School, where she served as Key Club President, Key Club I-I Lieutenant Governor (Division 5/6), as well as National Honor Society and French Honor Society Co-President in her senior year. She plans to attend Harvard University to study Mechanical Engineering in the fall. She is passionate about engineering and hopes to further her education by eventually pursuing a Ph.D. Roaa loves to play tennis and badminton and spend a good time with her family.

Guest Moderator:

Tolulope Adejuyigbe, Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Class of 2021

Tolulope Adejuyigbe is a graduating senior from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School. She plans to attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to major in engineering-undeclared. Tolu notes that the lack of diversity is what got her interested in STEM. Seeing how underrepresented Black folks, with an emphasis on Black women, were in STEM was one of her main motivations for pursuing an education in this field. She’s also always been hugely fascinated by science experiments in addition to the challenge and "always an answer" aspect of math.

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