Page 13 - Kettering Magazine Spring 2017
P. 13
KeTTering grAduATes exCel in ACAdemiA
grAduATe Becomes First African
American to receive ph.d. from
Carnegie mellon engineering program
r. Kristin warren ‘11 made history in 2016 when she
B y P a r d e e P T o o r
dbecame the first African-American female to receive
a ph.d. in mechanical engineering at Carnegie mellon
university. warren’s accomplishment occurred exactly
40 years after the first African-American male graduated
“i ThinK iT speAKs To from Carnegie mellon’s mechanical engineering program
The enVironmenT in 1966.
ThAT we liVe in As FAr
As The eduCATion “i think it speaks to the environment that we live in as far as the education system in
America,” warren said. “i think there could be more preparation at the high school
sYsTem in AmeriCA. level to get students more interested to pursue careers in science.”
i ThinK There warren believes that kids genuinely like math and science in elementary and middle
schools but there’s a cultural shift away from the fields of study at the high school
Could Be more
level. Based on her own educational experiences, warren hopes to dedicate her life’s
prepArATion AT The work to altering this narrative and inspiring students to pursue careers in science and
engineering.
high sChool leVel
journey to Kettering university and carnegie mellon
To geT sTudenTs warren was attending the mississippi school for mathematics and science (msms), a
more inTeresTed To residential high school located on the campus of the mississippi university for women
in Columbus, mississippi when she was awarded the prestigious gates millennium
pursue CAreers scholarship (gms) from the Bill and melinda gates Foundation.
in sCienCe.” The gms covers all educational expenses for a student to pursue an undergraduate,
- Kristin Warren ’11 master’s and ph.d. But it’s also more than a full-ride scholarship, it’s an entry to
a lifelong academic fraternity that provides academic empowerment services to
encourage academic excellence; mentoring services for academic and personal
development; and an online resource center that provides internship, fellowship and
scholarship information.
After earning the scholarship, warren received a pamphlet in the mail from Kettering.
The mailing catalyzed her visit to campus where she met with dr. pat Atkinson about
concentrating on Biomedical engineering. she then made the trek from mississippi to
s pring 2017 1 3
