rp. @hareesam 4) . S E L F. Black. Muslim. Woman. First-generation Ghanaian-American. Mine is the l
rp. @hareesam 4) . S E L F. Black. Muslim. Woman. First-generation Ghanaian-American. Mine is the last face you think of when you hear “civil engineer”. I went through many bouts of self-doubt, glancing around the classroom wondering what I was doing in a white-male dominated field… and why I was the only one who looked like me. Being hit with academic probation freshman year felt like I was defeated before I had even gotten started. Having to retake even more classes after that made me sink further into feelings of inadequacy. Why couldn’t I just “get it” like everyone else?! Even after that, years of family distress had almost broken me. Years of having to stand up to my elders to do what I knew was best had almost crippled me. It is difficult being the first in your family to go to college, and even more difficult to be a daughter living at home, still having to fulfill your responsibilities. What pushed me was knowing that I was part of the diversity so desperately needed at UMD and across the US. -- source link
#blackouteid#blackout#black muslimah#bgki#black engineers#black graduates#poet#civil engineer