Outside of my technical research contributions, I have been actively participating in mentorship and outreach initiatives to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in ECE. Starting my first year of graduate school, I have had the opportunity to mentor nine students at various academic stages, ranging from high school to graduate students, in the Franklin lab, guiding them to gain independence in the Franklin lab. Further, I worked with a group of engineering graduate students to launch the Duke Engineering Graduate Ambassadors program, which is aimed at pairing Duke graduate students with prospective students to guide them through the graduate school application process, including making them aware of fellowship opportunities. Additionally, I have organized several outreach programs to bring hands-on engineering demonstrations to elementary and middle schools, specifically in low-income areas, to expose these students to exciting topics in science and engineering. To help support these outreach effort, I helped secure the Maclin Fund for Duke MRS to have elementary students create their own mag-lev trains and the Dean’s Award for Inclusive Excellence in Graduate Education for EASE. As a member of the the Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility outreach team, I have also introduced 100+ K-12 students to nanotechnology at science nights, museums, and events at Duke.

When I transition to a faculty position, I will continue my mentorship and outreach activities with the following DEI objectives:

1. Unify existing outreach initiatives in the school to improve engagement and effectiveness.

2. Develop strategic recruitment efforts for underrepresented prospective students

3. Establish a women in engineering mentorship program where female faculty and industry leaders mentor students.

4. Implement the knowledge I gained from the teaching diverse learners course at Duke.

I look forward to harnessing my experience with DEI initiatives to create a welcoming research and teaching environment for all students.