What are one or two of your fondest memories that you made at Penn?

The first Kwanzaa celebration at the Dubois College House with Sonia Sanchez; when Jennie Patrick-Yeboah spoke at the NSBE Conference.

What role did the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion play during your time at Penn?

It was my lifeline to the African American college experience as a first generation college student. I arrived at Penn at 16 years old, not knowing what a bursar was. That office and that couch was a respite from the common dismissal I experienced in the classroom setting.

If you could go back in time and mentor yourself at the beginning of your time at Penn, what would you say?

Meet with the professors more regularly, so they learned how to relate to me and developed expectations for my success.

What is your current career? Is this the career path you envisioned for yourself while at Penn?

After 30 years in the construction and manufacturing industry, I'm working in the field of professional development, learning to relate to people as the possibility they are. I want to build healthy and sustainable communities.

What is a significant achievement or milestone you've accomplished since your time at Penn? Nothing is too small here!

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers. I am the first African American female (second Af-Amer) to earn my doctorate in the sub-discipline of Construction Engineering.

Broadly, what would you like ODEI students and alumni to know about you?

Even though I believed the professor who told me I didn't belong and I wasn't capable, I never gave up.