Because of misinformation and stereotypes promulgated through media and other information outlets, you don’t often publicly hear these words floating out of the mouths of young African American girls and women:
“I love math. Math is everything,”
Thus proclaimed Spelman College senior Nartezya Dykes, a Buick Achiever Scholarship winner who was honored at the star-studded United Negro College Fund (UNCF) “An Evening of Stars” at the Civic Center in Atlanta. (“An Evening of Stars” will air on BET on Sunday, April 13, 2014 at 10 p.m.).
Dykes, 22, was propelled to high scholastic achievement by two powerful undercurrents that flow through her spirit: the unwavering support of her grandmother who did not attend college; and, even more poignantly, by the tragic car accident that prematurely claimed the life of her talented older sister Natasha, the young star would have been the first in the family to attend college.
Today, Dykes is the proud and accomplished standard-bearer for her family.
“This scholarship has opened so many doors for me and my family,” said Dykes who is about to complete her degree in computer science with a minor in mathematics. “It has allowed me to focus solely on receiving the best education possible. I’m setting the standard and inspiring others in my family to reach their full potential by pursuing a higher education.”
Since its inception in 2011, the Buick Achievers Scholarship Program has awarded nearly $16.5 million to about 3,300 students. Among these students, nearly one-third are African American or Hispanic and, like Dykes, more than 1,600 recipients are the first in their family to attend college. Annually, Buick Achievers awards 100 qualifying students up to $25,000 per year for four years (up to five for qualified engineering programs).
To be eligible for the Buick Achievers program, high school seniors and undergraduate students must be looking to obtain a college degree in science, technology, engineering, math — also referred to as STEM — or other fields related to the automotive industry.
Dykes, a native of Franklinton, La., which is about an hour north of New Orleans and an hour east of Baton Rouge, spoke briefly with rolling out about thriving in a technical discipline not often associated with African American girls, and what she does to encourage others to consider entering into the dynamic fields of science, math and technology.
How did you come to hear about the Buick Achievers Scholarship Program offered by the General Motors Foundation?
I heard about it scholarship program in earlier years at Spelman. But I didn’t have a lot of confidence back then. It was a lot of money and I said ‘I don’t know if I can win that.’ But I got an email from one of the scholarship coordinators. And they said being a computer science major, you can apply for this. So I just started preparing all of my materials and said that I’m just going to give it a try. I said ‘if I can just get a piece of the money that they are offering, it will be a blessing.’
How did you win?
It had a lot to do with academic merit, interest in the automotive industry, my field because I’m in the STEM field, and outreach in the community. Based on that, I was selected.
What is your major?
Computer science with a minor in mathematics. I love math! Math is everything.
What is your interest in the automotive industry?
Right now I’m focused on broadening my horizons in IT, in particular automotive. Smart cars are coming out and they are trying to figure out more technology to add to the cars to make it smarter or work more efficiently for the driver.
You were also recognized for your devotion to community service:
I work with Black Girls Code; it’s a nonprofit in Atlanta. They try to get more girls interested in computer science, around middle school, usually ages 7 through 16, and they make their own websites, and I helped out with that as a technical assistant.
Explain how the stereotype that girls and mathematics don’t go together is blatantly false
That’s not true. As women we are as capable of problem solving just like men. For women and African Americans, we’ve been told that we’re not good at math, and (sometimes) you go on believing that. You might be really good at it, but you don’t think that black people are good at math, or that black people can be in the sciences and do that kind of work. And therefore they flock to other career paths. I believe that we are capable, we just have to show our kids the different possibilities in technology, engineering and mathematics.
How do you encourage more young people to enter into the sciences and technology?
As far as younger students, we encourage them to get involved in different organizations that promote science and technology. Our point is to broaden participation in things like STEM and “Geek Week.” And what we want to do is to demystify the stereotypes of computer sciences. It’s not all about white males doing programming in the basements, that it is actually fun and show them all the things that you can do with computer science.
And even people outside of computer science, you want to engage them and put on programs that show them, ‘hey, you have all these different technologies to start your business.’ You can actually do you own website and all these other things yourself without having to pay anybody.
(“An Evening of Stars” will air on BET on Sunday, April 13, 2014 at 10 p.m.).
Photos: General Motors
