Capstone Sa

What?

 

On September of 2014, I attended a National GEM Consortium conference, GEM GRAD (Getting Ready for Advanced Degrees) Lab at the University of Maryland College Park which had the purpose of introducing minority students to advanced academic opportunities in science and engineering and to the fellowship offered by the GEM Consortium. I had always known I wanted to attend graduate school and that this was a difficult to achieve goal, but being able to participate in this conference opened up my horizons and made me believe that I in fact could pursue any and all academic goals I had. Furthermore, this event became very important to me as a leader because it made me realize a stark reality of which I am a part of and that is the shockingly small number of minority students who attend and graduate from advanced studies programs.

 

The experience at the GRADLab exposed me to the benefits of a variety of graduate programs and it gave me the opportunity of interacting with other minority students both undergraduates and graduate students. The relevance of this experience was the essential sharing of experiences between minority students and the general sense of mutual support between students who have struggled to obtain their academic formation as it allowed me to make sense of the importance of education both in science and engineering fields but also in leadership. Although the leadership topic wasn’t discussed, per say, the conference inspired me to use my skills to transform my reality, to improve myself as a student so that I can serve my community by becoming a better prepared leader and professional.

 

So What?

 

When I returned home from this conference I had my mind and heart set on the goals that I already had and that this event only reinforced. Furthermore, being able to spend time with other minority scholars made me realize how few we are and yet how powerful we can be. For this reason I decided to further my studies in leadership beyond my current class work, I wanted to learn as much as I could about minority education, the benefits of education in social justice, and how leadership could help me attaining my goals of attending graduate school and later serving my community as a leader with my knowledge.

 

Another important result of my participation in the GEM GRADLab is that it revealed one of my biggest passions as a leader, the transforming power of education. The shocking statistics regarding minority education that I heard during that event and the challenges described by my peers moved me to become an advocate of education as means of social change which is my ultimate goal as a professional and my passion as a leader.

 

Now What?

 

Now I am planning on attending graduate school after graduation, I have focused my leadership minor studies in minorities studies, and I became involved in many events and community engagements that exposed me to the past and current conditions of education among a variety of minority groups especially here in our Blacksburg campus. I have decided that as a professional I will dedicate at least part of my time to serve back my community through my knowledge and the education that has been trusted on me. Furthermore, I would love to become involved with a project that would include teaching minority student engineering, science, and leadership or with any events that, like the GEM GRADLab encouraged me, would encourage other minority students to pursue their social and academic goals such that they too can, one day, give back to their communities.