“If I would have known the support would be as broad and as abundant as the opportunities, I think that would have helped me a little bit more.”
Aaliyah Brown, an MC2 STEM High School graduate, is now a process engineer at Rockwell Automation.
Aaliyah Brown first discovered engineering during a summer program when she was in high school. Aaliyah has an undergraduate degree in engineering technology and is pursuing a master’s in engineering management from Auburn University.
Did you have a mentor through your education, through your career? At any point?
I’ve had several mentors throughout my career. One of the main mentors that I’ve had and the one I’ve had the longest actually hired me into Rockwell as an intern back when I was going into my junior year of high school.
What does STEM mean to you?
STEM means to me just figuring out how things work and then wanting to make those better. So, yes, when you think of STEM, you think about the science, you know, the technology and things like that. However, you can apply those same principles and attributes to any aspect in life.
What might have helped you when you were younger?
I wouldn’t have understood it until I got a little bit older, but just knowing that I would have the support system that I needed, because that was definitely one of the things that I struggled with while I was pursuing STEM, especially in college. But what drew me into engineering was the fact that I would be able to be involved in a lot of different things.
What advice do you have for children today?
The advice that I would have for them is not to shy away from the challenge and understand that especially being brown and black children, that the opportunities that will be able to come to them from pursuing this career are definitely worth the hard work that it takes to get there.
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