 Hi, I'm Kate Young, and you're listening to This is Purdue, the official podcast for Purdue University. As a Purdue alum and Indiana native, I know firsthand about the family of students and professors who are in it together, persistently pursuing and relentlessly rethinking. Who are the next game changers, difference makers, ceiling breakers, innovators? Who are these boiler makers? Join me as we feature students, faculty and alumni taking small steps toward their giant leaps and inspiring others to do the same. It is an amazing feat, and Purdue, being supportive and showing up for students like myself, I think opens up the doors for other students to come in and make a huge impact. Today's episode of This is Purdue is really special. First of all, we're celebrating Black Boilermaker Excellence at Purdue and honoring Black History Month. And this also marks our 50th podcast episode. Your support as a listener means so much to the Purdue community, and it's an absolute honor for me to get to tell these Boilermaker stories. In this episode, we're talking to three Black alumni about why they chose Purdue. Now, these three people are different ages, they have different backgrounds and different careers. So what do a TV reporter, a computer engineer with a doctorate degree, and an army veteran have in common? They're continuing to support and foster growth within the Black community at Purdue. We'll kick off this special episode with someone who recently made a giant leap in Boilermaker history. In 2019, Amber Johnson became the first Black woman to earn her doctorate in computer science at Purdue. Amber tells us how she first heard about Purdue's computer science program and what she thought the first time she visited Purdue. And spoiler alert, she was not ready for this Midwest weather, but she was ready for the Chipotle. While at Jackson State, I was a part of the LSMAP program, the LSMAP Bridge to the Doctorate. And so it's a program that funds your master's degree and prepares you for the PhD. And so while in that program, someone told me about the, at the time I think it was called the HBI program at Purdue. It was a multicultural program that targeted underrepresented students. And so they would fly you out to Purdue, waive your application fee for graduate school. You get a chance to visit the campus, visit people in the different departments. And so someone came up to me and asked if I wanted a free trip to Purdue and I was like, okay. And so I started doing some research on Purdue and at the time Purdue was top in computer science programs in the world. And of course, you know, Purdue is the number one engineering school in the world now, but Purdue was top and also in engineering just in a lot of categories. So I thought it was a really good opportunity. So then you came to Purdue. What did you think when you got on campus? It's cold. Oh yeah, you're from the south. You're not used to that. Exactly. I was cold. I actually went and bought a pea coat. I thought it was a coat. I bought a pea coat for the visit. It was like $49 at TJ Maxx and it was not a good decision. Not warm enough? Not at all. It was like, yeah, no. And so when I got on campus, I thought, man, this thing is beautiful. And as you know, when you pull into, when you're driving up State Street, it's like, I think is it, I forgot the intersection where McDonald's is. There's now this huge development there. But when you drop, when you get to that light, it's like, I don't know, like never, never land. I don't know. It's just beautiful when you see the campus. And that's not even a full campus. And so I was like, wow, this is all of my schools I've ever been to can fit into this place. I thought it was such a beautiful campus and then everyone was so welcoming. The one thing that I thought that really drew me to Purdue was being able to meet with Dr. Sunil Prabhakar, who is the head of the computer science department. At the time he was the interim department head. He sat down with me and a couple of other students who were visiting the department to answer questions. He spent about an hour or so, and I think we even went over time and I was like, wow, the department chair is spending time with us. Like, we're not even students here. And I was like, wow, okay, this is really cool. So I thought beautiful campus. There was a Chipotle. There are no Chipotles in Mississippi. So that's a plus. Very excited about that. You know, I think they probably built that Chipotle right before I got there to kind of woo me. That's why I'm convinced of that. As I mentioned, Amber made a significant impact on our university in 2019 after being the first black woman to earn her PhD in computer science. She tells us what this achievement means to her. So first black, you know, woman to earn a computer science degree at Purdue. It's amazing. I don't even know where to describe it. So I know there were other women that came before me that blaze that path, be it at Purdue or Dr. Collin McMullen, who was at University of Michigan. If I'm allowed to say it on. Yeah, for sure. Arrivals. That's okay. Big 10 love. Big 10 love. But there were so many people who blazed that path before me and even those who didn't, who started the program and didn't finish for whatever reason. So being able to persevere through several hardships and successes, it weighs a lot. And there's a lot of responsibility that comes with it as well. Amber also told me the first black person to graduate with a computer science doctorate from Purdue was in 2010, not too long ago. But since then we have made giant leaps in this space. Purdue is now ranked number one in computer science doctorate degrees conferred to black and African American students amongst all our one or top tier research universities. I asked Amber why she continues to advocate for diversity, especially in male dominated fields like computer science. I think exposure is one thing. I think just people knowing about Purdue, Purdue knowing about the talent that's out there, places that Purdue recruit the talent that they tap into and I think a lot of that is shifting computer science has been traditionally white male. You know, and also computer science came from math. I think just, you know, being able to get that exposure, the students, because even in our department, the ratio of male students to female students is very unbalanced. And so it's not a surprise to me. It's not a surprise to others that this happened. It is an amazing feat and, you know, Purdue being supportive and showing up for students like myself. I think opens up doors for other students to come in and make a huge impact. What would you say to young black women who are pursuing STEM pursuing computer science? What advice would you give them if they want to come to a place like Purdue? I think finding a support system. One of the things so coming from Mississippi, the hospitality state, along with heads just I'm like a super extrovert. So I've been told on several occasions I've never met a stranger. I'm finding that I had to create that community. So coming from HBCUs, the culture HBCUs like it's a big family. No matter the size of the student population, the professors, no matter how many students are in the classroom, the professors know you by name. You always have study groups, you know, you there's always something going on on the yard. It's a big family reunion every day. And then coming from such a tight knit family and from Mississippi. I didn't know at the time there was a culture shock for me, but it definitely was. You know, I would say finding that support system. So even if you don't come from that type of environment, finding community, that was the number one thing that helped me be successful was finding community. So I would say that there are many people out there who look like you and take a chance, send a tweet, send an email, find a phone number. Maybe not a phone number, but you know, reach out to them because there's so many people who are willing and able to help in this space. And after 57 years of Purdue's computer science doctoral program, Amber paved the way for other young black women. Why do you feel that representation is important? You know, you said for little girls to see you in a space that's dominated by white men. Why do you think it's important and why is it so specifically important in a STEM field? I recently saw a, I think it was an Instagram post of, as I think the Disney movie in Kato. Is that the name of it? Yeah. How about in portrait? Okay, so that new Disney movie and there's this little, little black boy who is standing in front of the TV screen. And he asked this big Afro and I'm assuming because I haven't watched the movie yet, but there's a character in the movie with this huge Afro. And the kid, you know, said to his fans like, it's me. You think about that and you think, oh, wow, that's so cute. And it's amazing. But it's really deep because how many of those images has he seen on TV? Now there are more now than there were, you know, 10, 15 years ago. And so in that same realm, if our young girls, and not even just young, if people of color, black people specifically don't know that I exist, don't know that Dr. National Cephas or the key helmet exists, then they may think it's not possible or they may not even know these opportunities are out there. And so the representation and also we talk a lot about diversity and diversity is a spectrum. You know, you have diversity of thought, diversity of experiences, cultural backgrounds, all of that makes up, you know, the technology recreate the food that we eat, the decisions that we make. And you don't have everyone at the table who have representation then it's inherently biased from the beginning. And so, you know, speaking back to empowering youth, empowering people, I didn't see a lot of these images when I was a kid. I knew college was possible because my parents went to college. I didn't know that it was possible for me to have to get an internship at Google my early years in college when there have been kids who have been entering at Google since high school. So I think that representation, it presents opportunities and exposure and access to opportunities that some may not otherwise had access to. Another resource for young women in tech, Girls Who Code, a nonprofit organization on a mission to close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. Amber discusses her experience as an instructor and facilitator for Girls Who Code. I got in and I was really amazed at what I experienced. The girls inspired me just as much as I inspired them. Getting involved with it, I think, came from a place of I didn't have this as a kid. I wasn't exposed to computer science until I got to college. And so being able to pour back into these young girls to let them know like, hey, you may not want to major in computer science, but it's possible. You can do it if you want. And so that's how I got involved with Girls Who Code and was able to gain a bunch of great friends and friends and mentor. Reshma, who is the founder of Girls Who Code is a really good friend of mine and very supportive. That community there is ever growing and always willing to help. I read an interview Amber did with the Girls Who Code founder and CEO. And she mentioned her experience when it came to making history at Purdue. Amber said, quote, I've learned through this process how to brag and how important it is to brag to talk about my accomplishments. We need to make ourselves visible for other women, especially other black women. I asked Amber about this notion. Yeah, so I think being in spaces. So for instance, like being in Purdue, that was a place that, you know, the computer science department wasn't necessarily created with me in mind since inception. Like it has been what it has been. And so being able to and deciding to be myself and learning about my gifts and appreciating my gifts and understanding who I am, my experiences bring so much value and it can be very and has been very transformative to spaces as such. You know, imposter syndrome is very real. And it's nothing to be embarrassed about, you know, being in a space that you've never been in, in a space that has never experienced someone like you. You know, it can be very challenging and intimidating to navigate. And so having, I want to say conquer, maybe a bit dramatic, but having, you know, been successful in a space like that in many ways, I've learned a lot about who I am and my abilities. And so it's not necessarily to brag, but I know who I am. So you can't tell me who I am, you know, and so I know how to do a lot of really cool stuff. One thing is bragging to say, hey, I am capable of doing this. I have confidence that I can pursue or accomplish whatever. And I think we need more of it. We need to show our young girls examples of, hey, I succeeded because I also failed because I also tried. And I was able to become who, you know, you think this powerful, amazing woman is it didn't just come because I was born this way. Like there were obstacles. There were things that happened. And so because of that, I am going to use my voice. I'm going to empower other women even, and that doesn't necessarily mean that you have to go and directly mentor someone. People are mentors and they don't even know it. Just showing up and being yourself is empowering. Amber shares with the legacy of Black excellence that Purdue means to her. Some amazing things have happened at Purdue and even during the time that I was there, you know, Nesby, the National Society for Black Engineers was founded at Purdue, which is amazing. Nesby is a big family. Let me say that. Like Nesby, that's the big family reunion. And Nesby has chapters all across the country, uniting Black engineers, providing opportunities, the exposure and access I spoke about. And that was founded right there at Purdue. There have been, you know, a number of firsts at Purdue. You know, the computer science department was the first, it started at Purdue, which is, you know, why my experience in being the first in that department is very near and dear to me. The Black experience, I was involved in several organizations while on campus. And one was the Black Graduate Student Association, which we call BGSA. And BGSA is absolutely necessary. That is the backbone of the Black community, at least the graduate students at Purdue. And a lot of us recruited each other. I came to Purdue because, you know, one of the reasons I had graduate students in BGSA who helped me with my application, who, you know, helped me find an apartment, who, you know, told me about the campus and opportunities, who I'm still in contact with. I actually married one of them. I think, you know, that Black community, a lot of us have, while I was there, came from HBCUs, came from these environments where we didn't have to go and look for someone to study with or figure out who our professor was. It was there. We pulled together Sunday dinners, study sessions. We show up. I think I had 60, 70 people or something like that at my PhD defense. My professors were like, wow, we've never seen this before. I'm like, that's what we do. We show up. It's a family. It's a connection that, you know, without, I don't know where a lot of us will be, people who can't go home for holidays. You're there during the summer. You're missing baby showers and weddings with your family and friends. But you have this group that's there, this family that you kind of built into who support you through all of it. And so that the Black experience, I think, is, in a sense, siloed. Purdue was a huge campus. But in the Black population, it's very small in comparison to, you know, the entire student population. But it's such a tight-knit community. And I'm just thankful to have had that and to be a part of it. Hopefully added something to that. Amber said some of her favorite memories during her time at Purdue with this tight-knit community was hosting and cooking big Sunday dinners with Southern dishes. Another standout memory for her was seeing Dr. John Carlos speak at Purdue. Dr. John Carlos is an activist and American Olympian who displayed the Black power salute after his bronze medal win in the 200 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics. I had this picture of him on my phone, you know, for inspiration. I was always looking for something like other Black people who've done this kind of thing, who stood, you know. And so two weeks later, I'm sitting in an auditorium and Dr. Carlos is giving a speech. I'm like, oh, and I'm into it, you know. And so afterwards, I got to talk to him and I told him he was signing in my journal. And I said, you know, I had a picture of you on my phone. And I said, once I graduate, I'll buy the poster and put it in my house. And he said, you know what, you send me your address and I'll send you a copy. And I was like, what? Okay. So, okay, fast forward. It's like two months later, I totally forgot about this. And I'm sitting in my desk in my lab and I'm nearly in tears because I know I just failed a final. And I get a call and this guy's like, hey, I have a package for you. So I told him where I was, he came over and he said my grandfather had me, you know, wanted me to deliver this to you. Opened it up, signed a poster from Dr. Carlos saying, you know, keep pushing, let your light shine and these inspirational things. And I just, I'm bawling. Just, you're just ugly crying. You know, it was times like that. And I was like, like, John, Carlos, like, yo, you know, and to have confirmation like that, that I knew I was supposed to be a Purdue because I prayed about these. But no one in like, in the times where I'm like, I don't know if I'm going to make it. That God sent someone that John freaking Carlos sends me a poster. As you've listened to Amber, I'm sure it's obvious how much pride and love she has in her heart for Purdue. There's a certain pride with having gone to Purdue. And when your own campus, Purdue is I think is the most beautiful campus probably in the world. And when your own campus, it's like you appreciate it, but it's like you're in it and it's yours. But once you leave campus, once you travel across the world, across the country, and you see that pee, you see that logo, you can spot it anywhere. I don't care how small it is. But it's like this sense of pride of like, ah, that belongs to me. I'm a part of that family. I can't really describe it in words of what it feels like to know that I'm a part of that family. You know, knowing that so many great things have come out of Purdue. So many great people, which just speaks volumes to the prestige of the education, the exposure, the network that you have. You'll find Purdue people in every sector of the world. I'm also sure it's obvious to you all by now what a joy it was speaking to Amber. Her positivity is just contagious. Amber shares what she's up to now. She's the founder of the Cadalt Life. The Cadalt Life is about being who you are no matter where you are. So Cadalt is kid and adult, but together it's one word. And I came up with the Cadalt Life after graduating. I got to thinking, you know, I was completely myself. You know, there's being in an environment where no one else looks like you. It can be easy to just kind of conform or kind of go with what you think is expected of you. And I decided not to do that. Like I made an active decision and that in turn transformed me and that environment. So I created the Cadalt Life because I wanted to encourage other people to be themselves. And so I thought about it was like, you know, as kids, we are who we are. Kids don't care. Okay. They will say anything anywhere. You know, they're curious and fearless and they want to try things. And when do we lose it? At what point do we go? I wanted to be an astronaut, but I'm going to be a pharmacist because this sounds better. This, you know, whatever, like, no, do the thing that you have in your heart pursue those things. And so I wanted to encourage other people to do that. It's a lifestyle brand, but it's not just an apparel brand. So I have these like really cool T shirts and hoodies and different accessories that people have just fallen in love with. And I've really just made these things like from what I like. And it's created a community of people who are like, yeah, I don't want to grow up. You know, you have these adult responsibilities. You do those. Yeah, you got to pay taxes or you probably go to jail. But, you know, you can, if you want to watch cartoons and eat fruit loops with almond milk. Yes, I do that. Then do that. And so it's really so inspiring. So one of the things that I'm, you know, looking forward to is moving into different domains. And I've done some things with animations, which are really cool. So I'm looking forward to kind of where there will go in inspiring people and scaling it. And she's also the COO and co-founder of the Jackson Tech District, a $150 million tech district in downtown Jackson, Mississippi. So the Jackson Tech District is a $150 million live, work, play mixed use development. It is 14 acres, I think nearly 800,000 square feet of space. And I along with my partner, Dr. Nathalie Seafiz, who is also from Jackson. She was a part of a team that sold a company, a part pick to Amazon. And as a part of the acquisition, she went on to work at Amazon and founded the bean path. And so the bean path is nonprofit. We also have in Jackson, which we offer free technical assistance. We've been doing it for three years and been able to impact over a thousand people. And so Dr. Nathalie was like, okay, we need a building. So we're exceeding the space of the library, we want our own space. And she went out to buy one building, one building turned into eight. And now we have a tech hub in a sense. And so we're building this is there eight existing buildings. And we're going to also create some new structures. And we want to bring our tech experiences, tech experiences across the world to Jackson. There is something called a brain drain, which where the tech talent has to leave Mississippi to find opportunities and find jobs. And so we want to keep that talent in the state and cultivate that talent and, you know, nurture it. We want to upskill people the same as we've been doing with the bean path and be able to provide a space where people would love to live and work. So, you know, part of that Jackson is a, you know, food deserts, the food swamps as well. So, you know, bringing grocery stores and restaurants, event space, bringing green space because people like to walk dogs and do yoga outside. Shout out to Chicago. And so, you know, this is a very, very special project for us because we were born and raised there. I'm just in the downtown area, less than half a mile from Jackson state. And very excited project. We're hoping to, you know, break ground on one of our buildings this year and raise some capital to bring this thing to life. Being able to create and to build and definitely do something that has such an impact. So starting out with the adult life and building that community and continue as seen that grow has been really amazing. And then the addition to that being the tech district, being able to transfer all those skills and experiences to bring that to community. It is absolutely a passion, but it's a business venture as well. How amazing is that? That I, you know, I'm able to make the same kind of impact and talk about grocery code, the bean past, black girls lead, right. So, yes, so many places, so many nonprofits that I was working with and to be able to connect all of those things and bring food and housing and entertainment to a city with so much rich culture is, you know, I guess I could talk about this for hours. I guess I get super excited about it. When it comes to black history month, Amber shares what February means to her personally and ways you can honor and celebrate black history this month. Black history month is very near to me because growing up in Mississippi, we didn't learn a lot about black history. The only time I saw black people in our history books where they were in shackles, it was, you know, a small kind of black and white sketch and I knew it made me like, I know it wasn't good, but it wasn't presented to me in that way. And so black history month was a time where we got to, you know, dress up and we would do research, we would learn about black history leader or someone in our community and we would get up and share that with the class. And so I think that's why it always has a place. So, yes, we celebrate black history every day, but there's definitely a special feeling when February comes around because it's like appreciating that time for my childhood when that was the only time that it was recognized in the environment that I was in. I think learning about black history, you know, not only black leaders who have made major impacts across the world, but you know, black culture, like what is black culture? You know, appreciating that not just because like, oh, this looks cool or it's black history month, but actually appreciating that black culture, black history is a part of, you know, US history. It is US history and it's also world history. I know a lot of times people go over to the black cultural center during black history months and whether by force or by choice, you know, people go over but visiting the black cultural center throughout the year, there are so many cool events that the black cultural center put on, so many exhibits they put on throughout the year. And so, you know, I think just, you know, doing research, reading books, looking at videos, there's so many things out there to educate yourself. I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised with what you're buying. At the end of our conversation, Amber reiterated the importance of mentorship, especially when it comes to representation within the Boilermaker community and around the world. I think mentoring is a really, really important piece. I have a mentor for food, okay? Like I have somebody I call and I'm like, hey, I'm going to California. I need some food options. So you don't have to have just one type of mentor, but mentors are really, really important. We talked about having representation. Sometimes you are being groomed to be the mentor for someone that's coming behind you or even mentor people who are older than I am. And so, mentorship is a beautiful thing. It's really amazing to have someone who looks like you, who can share the, you know, the culture, the experiences. But that shouldn't be the barrier for being a mentor or accepting mentorship from someone. Because when you start talking to people, you realize how similar we are. We're human. We're human. We have different experiences, backgrounds, but we're human, so we share a lot of commonalities. So I think mentorship into any graduate students, anybody out there that's pursuing something new, find a mentor, be it in the space that you're going into or someone who has traveled a similar path. Because you may be the trailblazer. There may be nobody else out there like you. You may be the one who is blazing this path or someone else. So, mentorship is super important and stressing, you know, community. Community is very important. You know, women and STEM, we are freaking awesome. We are doing a thing. But I see so many, you know, tweets and groups that have been formed with women in tech that are focused on being inclusive and empowering. And I remember my very first year going to Grace Hopper, the Grace Hopper conference, Grace Hopper Women in Computing. And this was in, I think, 2013. And the conference was still like maybe under 2000 people or something. And my advisor at the time really encouraged me to go. And I was like, no, you know, I got to study. And she was like, I think you should go. So anyway, I went and it was a life changer. And I met pretty much a large percent of the mentors I have now and friends I have in the space. And that conference has since grown. I think it's like 16, 24,000. Like it's wild how many, you know, and these are all women. And so it was funny to hear whenever I would come back to campus and all the guys would be like, what? Like, I want to go to Grace Hopper. And I'm like, it's for us. But the thing about Grace Hopper is they do not, you know, anybody's welcome to the conference. But being there and you have these tens of thousands of women who are in tech, they are from different cultures, from different places in the world, the country, different disciplines. And it's just like the first time you go to like the state fair. And it's like, you want to eat a funnel cake and you also want to rock the roller coaster. And you want to win the little teddy bear. It's like, what do I do first? It was like the best conference that I went to. And so to see that transformation, to see the work that Respa is doing with Girls Who Code and even, you know, her initiative with moms, like women are, we know, we've known forever. But like to see this on a world stage is so awesome. Amber couldn't have said it better. We have known this about women for quite a while. And with that, I'm excited to introduce you to yet another incredible Black Boilermaker woman on this podcast. Sydney Simone Tucker is a news reporter for CW39 in Houston, Texas. Well at Purdue, Sydney was part of the fast track news program and did sideline reporting for the Big Ten Network. She had her sights set on being a sports reporter after graduating from Purdue. I asked Sydney what made her want to go into reporting. I've always been very interested in people, very observant and the storytelling aspect. And I was an athlete in high school. Well, growing up really all throughout my younger years through high school. So for me, my first thought was one on I focused on sports and kind of do the storytelling in that angle. After a few months of applying for sports reporting jobs across the country, Sydney applied for a news reporting job in the Shreveport, Louisiana area. She landed that position and kicked off her news career. Sydney tells us about her biggest hurdle when it came to adjusting to life as a reporter halfway across the country. Learning on the fly, I would say you learn a lot in the classroom. And even though we had like fast track and we had hands on courses, but it's not the same. I don't know. It's really something that you just have to experience. I did internships in sports, which is completely different from the way things are done in news for one. But I would say just having that little shock initially in terms of the way things are done. It's such a fast paced every day. I don't think people realize how much you actually do in a day. Like you spend your whole day prepping for just two minutes of being on air. So I would say just having to adjust in that aspect and then learning a new environment by example in the Midwest, I was in the South. So the language, the culture, how things are done there was, you know, different. But I adapted really well. I would say that would be the biggest adjustment just, you know, going miles away from home and learning a new environment and having to work in that environment and tell stories that reflect where I was. Sydney is part of the National Association of Black Journalists. And she said that's been key when it comes to forming new connections and learning industry tips. I asked her why she feels representation is important, especially in a career field as visible as hers. For one, people will pay attention when they know you care about them. There's so many different types of people, so many backgrounds, so many cultures, so many different races. And I've learned that just from working in news, you know, as I got to go out into different communities, went out to do a story. They would say things like, oh, I've never had a story done, or people don't shine a light on this, and this goes on in my community all the time. But since you do, I'm going to watch the news now, and I'm going to pay attention to the news. And you want people to pay attention to the news and those reputable sources, especially lately, over the last couple of years, I felt like for some reason the media has taken, like the way people perceive us, it's just so harsh and bad now. We're like, no, especially I'm in local news. I don't want to tell your stories and be factual, you know, and just kind of share a light. But when people notice you and see people who look like them and understand them, it makes them want to stay connected and they build those relationships in the community. And that's one of the biggest things for me as to why I stuck with news and didn't really go back into sports yet, just having that relationship, especially over the last few years, we've had so many different big topics and movements. We've had pandemics. We've had the George Floyd Black Lives Matter movements, there's so many different movements, Me Too movements, just so many different types of just heavy topics lately. You can connect with those people and reach out to them. You know, they'll pay attention and that way we can all gain understanding and kind of learn from each other. Yeah. And like even if you're out doing a story and you impact one person and they think about you for, you know, wow, she really said something about you. And I think it's really important to be connected with me, like that's so special that you're making a difference. And it becomes trustworthy too because then they'll tell so and so in their community or their family, you know, because people until they get to know who you are, they kind of run from the media. We're like the people where we pull up, people are kind of running from you and you got to like chase them down. But once they realize, you know, we're not the people in that aspect, but we want to tell the good too. We're just not always highlighting the bad because I know some of my friends and family will say like, oh, I don't watch the news because it's always depressing and bad, but we tell a lot of good stuff and we want people to know that too. So what was Sydney's Boilermaker experience like? Oh, it was great. It was like a family away from home. It taught me so much and so much that I learned the leadership that I've learned everything that I did on campus kind of translated over into my adulthood and my life now. Like along with my sorority, I was also president of my council, which is in NPHC, the national panel at council. So we got to sit on boards and interact with other presidents like Penhill and other councils, great councils there. So those relationships, I still stay connected to people on campus. And I would say it was very beneficial. And now, like I said, if I see somebody like in a different organization or the National Association of Black Journalists or in the same sorority, that's another connection that I have there in this industry networking and connections and relationships are just as important as your work and what you know on paper. The National Panhellenic Council Inc., which Sydney just referred to as NPHC, the National Council of Black Journalists and Black Journalists for Ternities and Sororities, came together in 1930 to provide a haven and community for black students on predominantly white campuses. The NPHC currently has nine members and these Greek organizations are commonly referred to as the Divine Nine. These organizations, some of which are over a hundred years old, have contributed countless years of the Divine Nine organizations. Sydney shares what her Divine Nine experience at Purdue meant to her. When I came in, of course, anyone who's a Boilermaker who knows the black community at Purdue is small. So, you know, coming to Purdue and just kind of seeing people who will look like you, think like you, that was heartwarming. But it didn't really set in until I joined my sorority, which is Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and the Divine Nine and the National Panhellenic Council. Building those relationships kind of opened up an even bigger door. So we're hosting events on campus that pertain to the black community and hosting events and parties and different things in the greater Lafayette area to kind of connect everyone. And once I started doing that, building those relationships, doing community service, it kind of felt like a family and a percentage of us there. Once I kind of tied into those groups and those organizations on campus. Although Sydney is now a thousand miles away from Lafayette, she says her Boilermakers pride and spirit is still on full display. It's a lifelong relationship that's still growing. The foundation was set on campus, but when you can go somewhere miles away from home, miles away from Purdue and see the Purdue Pete or Boilermaker or, you know, I'm down in Texas now, so when I see that, I like perk up. And actually, our meteorologist went to Purdue years ago, so that was exciting when I realized that. But to see that and just know that this community extends outside of Indiana and to know that I'm a tale with high honor just makes me feel good about where I got my education and building those lifelong connections and relationships at the same time and doing things like this or maybe speaking engagements on campus to kind of talk to the younger college students or the kids who might come to Purdue. So I would say that and lately they've been making me really excited with sports. When I was there, they were kind of on the slope where they were going up, especially in terms of football, they were getting better. But like before I got there, I love Purdue, but this year we've had volleyball, we've had basketball, football made me pay attention to sports a lot more this year and we've been doing great. I know football just won the bowl game. We were number one at basketball for like a week, so that was pretty cool. So yeah, it makes me proud to wear my Purdue gear, even though I'm out of campus anymore. Absolutely, I agree. And Sydney has some great guidance on how you can honor and celebrate Black History Month as a member. I would say actually go out and do something. It's easy to post something or repost something on social media or just share a video or picture or something like that. Find an event, go to an exhibit or museum in the area or something and actually learn about the culture or something hands on that you can remember. Do something like that and kind of talk to the groups there and organizations. Embrace yourself and try to open your mind and your heart to learning and understanding and interacting. Like I said, the Black community, we don't turn anybody away, so if you come hang with us, we're going to welcome you with open arms. So don't be afraid to, especially if I can go back to Greek life, we have people who aren't Black from different cultures. I have a white line sister, so we're very open. We have a Latina in our organization and my chapter to be specific and so forth with other organizations in the council. So it's not like we're exclusive, we're not keeping people out. We welcome people. And then we also, that's a big thing, pay attention to the Black culture center. I know people go up in there and they go to the computer lab and study, but you actually know what's in there, do you know what we do in there, do you know what programs and events go on in the Black cultural center. So that's the thing with that, it's right there on campus, so just kind of use that. Our final story of Black Boilermaker Excellence in this episode comes from Curtis Baylor. Curtis is a 1972 Purdue graduate and the president of the Purdue Black Alumni Organization, or PBAO for short. Curtis majored in industrial engineering and was one of two Black Army ROTC students in his graduating class. Originally from Washington DC, Curtis applied at Purdue, Cornell, and Drexel and was admitted to all three. But after a road trip to West Lafayette he realized he loved the proximity of Purdue to Chicago and Indianapolis. Plus he wanted to pledge a fraternity chapter that was at Purdue. And so the rest was history. I got to Purdue in the fall of 1968, September of 1968. And I'm originally from Washington DC, so it was a shock trauma so to speak to arrive on that campus with basically a trunk in a suitcase. I got, let me see where did I start? I guess the first thing is I became the vice president of freshman class after our election. I guess it was maybe a month or two of campaigning and getting ready and all that kind of thing. I started pledging the fraternity that I'm now a member of. That's the omega side five fraternity and I became a member in the spring of 69. And then I was also an army ROTC so I got complete four years in that and got commissioned in the army. I was an army engineer. I was a student senator. I was the president of the fraternity for two years on the board of directors for the Black Cultural Center once that got initiated. But my main focus was to do what my mother told me. She said you have four years to complete your degree. I might give you another semester. After that it's on you. So I was on a mission to get out of Purdue in four years and I was successful in doing that. I got commissioned and went into the army. As he mentioned, Curtis was elected to the board of directors for the newly created Black Cultural Center at Purdue in 1970. The BCC which is currently led by interim director Bill Case offers a wealth of programs and services for the entire campus community. It brings together the diversity of the Purdue family by nurturing and presenting the rich heritage of the African-American experience through art, history and cultural understanding. Curtis tells us about the history of the BCC. I give credit to folks like Leroy Keys and the folks that got there before I did as you may know or may not know of 1966, 67, 68, especially years of protest and unrest on student campuses. And so in the I want to say I think it was the spring of 1968. I think that's when the fire next time where the African-American students on campus decided that enough was enough and they protested and marched peacefully and laid bricks out in front of the administration building with the indication of we're not threatening you but if things don't change then it could get ugly. And so that was the creature of the spring before I got there. I got in there in the fall and when I got in the fall or some other unrest took place but then in the I'm going to say the spring of 69, one was Eric McCaskel, Duke McCaskel refused to cut off his beard and mustache for participating track and they took him off the plane, arrested him, etc. etc. etc. and then that set in a direct engagement with Dr. Hubdy and saying these are what some of the demands are much as students put in these are some of the things we want to have happen today with the diversity equity task force. And out of that the agreement was to establish a place on campus where African-American students, black students could gather together to maintain their sanity in terms of being able to have a safe haven to just be you with other folks that look like you and the BCC was born of that. And as we heard from Sydney the Divine Nine also played a huge role in Curtis's experience at Purdue and it continues to play a role in his life to this day. The Divine Nine are the black reclutter organizations they are Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Kappa Alpha Psi Delta Sigma Beta Phi Beta Sigma Zeta Phi Beta Sigma Gamma Road and out of Phi Theta and the Omega Psi Phi Psi. And so these are black reclutter organizations they generally have members all over the world campuses all over the country. The unique thing is that unlike most of the majority of the white reclutter organizations the black reclutter organizations have what we call alumni chapters or graduate chapters which are basically located geographically in cities and counties et cetera, municipalities around the world. When you get into that it's like picking up another family and so those connections endure for a lifetime. And so the networking there and being a graduate knowing what's going on and then of course even though we compete against each other and joke with one another about who's better and all that kind of thing the fact that a matter is that we're really all about the same thing that's giving back and help uplifting black folks but also uplifting everybody, all humanity. The two other people I I've interviewed this week had just wonderful things to say about their sororities and they're all still friends to this day and the family community aspect. Oh yeah well I'll give you an example okay so I like I said I pledged and I started in 1968 and I went over in the spring of 1989 there were 12 of us I was the first online they lined us up by height so I was the shortest guy the guy next to me is Charles Bruce and Charlie and I have been tied at the hip as friends more and more for over 50 years I mean we met as 17 year old freshman at Purdue and now here we are in 2022 I'm his daughter's godfather we've been in touch for 50 years his father I call his papa Bruce baptized me when I was an adult his brother his blood brothers and sisters like my brothers and sisters you know so you magnify that by the other 12 guys and the other hundreds of guys they graduated and that's not a unique story for most of us who've been a member of the divine night. As I mentioned Curtis now serves as the president of the Purdue alumni organization it's the largest alumni affiliate of Purdue for life. Curtis explains how he got involved with PBAO and eventually became president of the organization. Coincidentally I joined PBAO in the late 70s early 80s because I used to always generally at least once or twice a year if the army didn't have me tied up doing something else I would always come back basically tied to fraternity and random homecoming and things what we call the weekend which is around grand free time that kind of thing and I attended a meeting and it was all about trying to better the situation for African American students on campus as well as an opportunity for us to kind of get together and kumbaya and that kind of thing so that went on for what say 70s 80s you know and then when I moved up in my fraternity and then in 2014 basically the rise in the fraternity sort of hit a bump and so then I decided I was going to get on the board of directors for PBAO because every time we would go to homecoming I was hearing the same recurring theme low numbers of African American students on campus recruitment and retention etc etc etc and I said this needs to be fixed PBAO needs to be more than just showing up for homecoming and so that was 2014 I stepped in and worked on membership as secretary and in 2017 I became the president well what's different about us is that of course we are in one geographic location and like many of the other affiliate groups so I built on the shoulders of my predecessors and a couple of things that had done were in place before I got there of course we had some scholarships in place we had a regular rotation of having homecoming and working with members of the Divine Nine, the African American recletter organizations so at homecoming we tried to pair up with the VCC or the BOP or minority whatever programs and then probably maybe just before right as I was getting on the board we came with the idea of having what we call regional coordinators so these are black alumni that are all over the country and we try to have them placed where there's a large population if you will of African American black alumni so Metro DC Metro Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis and Houston Dallas, things like that so therefore they could work on the ground more so of trying to pick up the names of folks that are there so that opportunities for gathering in those locations would be more frequent and then of course what we try to do is once a quarter to have some kind of a national event if you will that folks can participate in so that would be homecoming we started having mid-year meetings and then we forced this virtual environment we put on a couple of virtual broadcasts some like that from a national perspective so that's what we've done we also had supported the black expo they may have been networking events other places and so we just continue to build on that and that tells us about one of his favorite experiences he's had while leading PBAO I think the time that I really really was used the word proud of the organization was when we hosted we've only had one COVID hitting some other things but what we call the black family reunion and that was in May of 2019 in concert with the 50-year celebration of the Black Cultural Center and we had been planning for that in fact that planning for that in Germany and the States started probably before I got on the board but anyway we decided we're going to do that because we thought that it would be nice to have an opportunity for black alumni together when basically black alumni would be the only show in town because homecoming I mean you know getting a room and being there is that you know you kind of overcome by events but for that anniversary we're focusing on African-Americans and black folks in terms of what they contributed to the university and what the BCC met and a lot of folks said well you know it doesn't make any sense to them but it's going to come and on and on and on but anybody who attended that was a great event to recognize the BCC but the other thing is we brought in a vendor to provide what I want to call it like games and that kind of thing and we engaged with students from the minority engineering program and to see them interacting amongst themselves and also with alumni you can't believe how good I felt about that and the fact that alumni and students connecting and then what the students got out of it I hope to be able to repeat that at some point in time In April of 2021 Purdue announced its new Purdue's next moves one of these next moves is the equity task force which Purdue has committed $75 million to sustaining an equitable environment at Purdue with a focus on representation, experience and success for Black Boilermakers It's led by Jay Ackridge Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Diversity and John Gates Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion I asked Curtis what improvements he thought the EFT has already contributed to the Black community and culture at Purdue. We talked about one of the things about what I'm really happy about in terms of an accomplishment since I've become president where I've seen direction changes with the equity task force and what came out of it and Purdue's commitment to changing things and so fortunately we've been integrated and to be like the tip of the spear so to speak in that effort and so the whole thing with now cluster cities and working on improving the yield and what's causing in the yield is not expected, but don't con and so really peeling back the onion and not doing what had been being done for 15, 20 years and now let's really look back on what can we really do to make great strides and so I am cautiously optimistic that those efforts will yield fruit. While Purdue has its challenges, the fact of the matter is that Purdue has questionably one of the top as biased as a boarder you would say the top engineering school and really beyond engineering because of the pharmacy school and chemistry school and vet school and the history of what Purdue has done in terms of providing opportunities even though Purdue takes some of a knock but when you think of black folks you know in the pharmacy school the vet school and other places they agree from Purdue means something and the position that we as black alumni take in the organization is that every place for me personally and I think my folks have embraced that is that every African American student black student in the country specifically around the world for that matter should be exposed and be aware of Purdue and have the opportunity to apply and be accepted and attend if they so choose the fact that that's why we have no problem working hand in hand with the university and then of course the next thing is to make sure they get in but also to make sure they manipulate and graduate it is safe to go back and name names because I don't know them all and being out of pocket with the military running around you may not remember folks when I think about folks of my era well God rest his soul talk about Lee Roy Quiche, talk about Herm Gilling and in terms of my era I think of Dr. Daniel Cason who's a leading oncologist out in California I think of May Jameson, I think of Pam King, I think of Sean Taylor, Roland Parrish I mean and all and you know I think of just folks on my board, Angela Dowd Nick Camille McKinley so you can't say that black alumni haven't gone forth and been successful there's too many of them to name and so the legacy is is that I would challenge anyone that has run into a black alumnus from Purdue to include some who didn't graduate that have not demonstrated their ability to perform with excellence and achieve when given the opportunity and so the legacy is if you can make it in Purdue and you come out of Purdue you can compete with anybody in the world again I go back to the fact that Purdue is if not the best undoubtedly one of the best institutions of higher education in the country so the part that is somewhat missing or not to say somewhat missing but can be stronger is for black students who attend to Purdue attend Purdue to walk away after being there four years, five years whatever it is taking away not only a degree but a sense of connectivity during that time and have more pleasant memories, fond memories then to be an unpleasant few as a result of being discriminated against or not given a fair shaker opportunity and of course in this trauma and stress of if you've never been in a place where the majority is there and you arrive from a predominantly black high school or whatever or you're nurturing and then you get to Purdue and you're on an island and that's a tough sled for some folks. I so enjoyed talking to Curtis and his 50 plus years of love for Purdue truly shined. I asked what the Boilermaker spirit and community means to him after all this time I want folks to walk away knowing that the PBL has a purpose and the purpose is to cause black alumni to network together and to promote themselves and their causes and also to make sure that the students on campus students on campus and bringing students to campus because if the fact is if no blacks folks come to Purdue and graduate we won't have a black alumni organization so the other thing is that I don't care what kind of alumni you are your ethnicity your sex and sexual orientation the fact of the matter is is that you are a Boilermaker and I think we can all agree that Purdue is a great place and what we wanted to do is continue to be a great place and make it better I mean you can always be better and let's work together to make it better and if we can come together and work with that then we'll make Purdue better and of course I think we as Boilermakers would say if you really look at black if you look at Boilermakers period what have we contributed to this country it's kind of like let's walk around as Boilermakers and look at everybody else and say hey you better recognize we got it going on absolutely I love that and as for celebrating Black History Month Curtis shares his thoughts on how you can honor the black community whether you're a current student at Purdue or an alumni halfway across the world Black History is American History Native American History is American History Hispanic History so it's all one history it's just viewed from a different perspective and maybe not as much appreciated as it should be so let me say that first next I would advise if you are an African American celebrate your history but also go out of your way to engage with somebody who is not African American and talk about what I just said what do we have in common how do the threads of black history and being ethnic and black intervene where is the overlap with your ethnic group because it's all one pot in the United States you have to work to make it that way if you're not African American go out of your way to engage with an African American to talk about how we can better engage with one another and it's not one of these hey happy hurrah hurrah I don't have a conversation because right now nobody can deny the fact that these are divisive times in our country and unfortunately we share more in common than we want to admit but we need to talk about the history and the roles that do that and then for students on campus do that on campus go out of your way because if you just get there and stay in your insular community and don't step out of your comfort zone that's what college is all about meet folks that don't look like you don't think like you don't have the culture you do and say hey and it should be easier for you because that's how the class is made up and you have to work with one another in class so you know pick up other friends and understand what they know yeah we're different so what we probably have more in common than we do have in differences I love how Curtis set that PBAO is working on a $500,000 endowment for the Black Cultural Center plus a new endowment for giving circle which aims to give out scholarships and improve the quality of life for black students on campus Curtis also stresses that you don't have to be a black alumnus to support PBAO you don't have to be a black alumnus to be a member of PBAO because it's the idea of do you believe that what we're doing in terms of trying to have scholarships and promote gathering place and making Purdue better and all that kind of thing you're more than welcome as long as you're a Purdue alumnus and that was will it be in Purdue for life you can join PBAO and beyond that we're all rowing the same boat we're rowing the same direction if you'd like to learn more information about PBAO www.pbao.org and if you'd like to learn more about the equity task force you can visit purdue.university slash diversity thanks for listening to This is Purdue for more information on this episode visit our website at purdue.edu slash podcast there you can head over to your favorite podcast app to subscribe and leave us a review and as always boiler up