S.T.E.M., Braids & Beyond

Two decades into my career, I stumbled upon a fascinating discovery about myself: I had STEM aptitude— a field that always eluded me. This realization was not just a personal awakening that I may not be living up to my career and earning potential. As a single mom with small children, that was bone-chilling. It also sparked a deep curiosity about the so-called 'STEM gap'—the disconnect between potential learners and their engagement with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Driven by curiosity to support my children towards STEM, my journey turned towards intensive research around the STEM gap. To further validate my STEM aptitude, I decided to pursue a STEM Master's degree and made an unexpected connection: Hair Braiding and Braid Theory in mathematics are, astonishingly, expressions of the same fundamental principles. This revelation was a light-bulb moment, that the STEM gap is due to a lack of knowledge NOT a lack of aptitude. Like many, I thought the STEM gap was a lack of blacks in the field. According to the National Science Foundation, the under-represented in STEM are women of all races, individuals with disabilities, and blacks. With a newfound passion fueled by this insight, I founded STEM, Braids & Beyond— to enhance STEM literacy among the underrepresented in STEM fields. STEM, Braids & Beyond aims to inspire K-12 students towards academic STEM in High School and Higher Ed. Understanding that socio-economics also impacts family access to funding STEM opportunities for kids, I work to inspire parents and adults toward STEM. As the founder of STEM, Braids, and Beyond, and the holder of multiple patents—a rarity, given that women represent less than 1% of individual patent holders—I embody a unique intersection of creativity, innovation, and advocacy. In sharing my story—from a curious outsider to a patented inventor and advocate for STEM Literacy—I aim to illustrate that the paths to STEM are as diverse as the individuals who walk them. Through my work, I seek not only to educate but to inspire, challenging traditional narratives about who belongs in the world of STEM and showing that, sometimes, the most profound connections are found in the most unexpected places.