Not A Crime by brianna

Not A Crime by brianna - July 2025 Scholarship Essay

Brianna,

You’re a year closer to adulthood. You hold the same desires in your heart of becoming a Structural Engineer. But it’s being viewed in a different way.

You grew up in African culture-based schools. You hung around people who looked and spoke like you. You thought it’d be like that forever, right? But the more you researched, the more you got uncomfortable. The face of Engineering companies were White men. You scrolled through galleries hoping to find an ounce of pigment. Someone who resembled you in any kind of way. You were never insecure about your sex nor race until this desire appeared.

Here's one piece of advice for you. Raise the 3% of African American Female Engineers as high as you can. There will be younger girls looking up to you. Be their motivation. Give them the opportunity to witness the success of someone who looks like them. I want you to understand that due to the fact that you are an African American woman, you won’t be as welcomed. Understand that your opinions may go unheard. People will expect you to mess up, or to always ask for help. Prove them wrong.

Get out of the mindset that being the only African American female in the classroom would be a bad thing. Instead, envision yourself walking into a classroom with confidence like no other, and walking out feeling excited. It’s your life at the end of the day. No one can control it but you.

Most importantly, remember that you are not only pursuing your education for yourself, you are doing it for your family. You are doing it for the children who are feeling hesitant. For your neighbors who have never stepped foot on campus. Looking different is not a crime.

Love, Brianna