Meet Tiffany Davis, the aerospace engineer who wants you to know that rocket scientists come in all shades, shapes and sizes. Originally from Washington, DC, Davis is a spacecraft engineer at Boeing’s Mission Operations and Engineering group, according to her website.
Davis first came to prominence in 2016 after her graduation pictures went viral with the hashtag #YesIAmARocketScientist, reported Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB). She earned a degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and had the privilege of introducing then-President Barack Obama when he came to her university to speak.
The visit happened after Obama received a letter from Davis advocating to make college more affordable. He provided a response and the rest is literally history.
After receiving tons of press for epitomizing #BlackGirlMagic, Davis is using her platform to inspire others who look like her to pursue careers in STEM. In an interview with GPB, Davis said:
“It takes … a type of ambition and determination to know that you’re going into a field where there’s not a lot of people that look like you, and some people will doubt that you belong there because there’s not that representation of you already in that field. So [there] will be times where you feel like you have to prove yourself, or you may not belong, but just understand that you have a purpose, and you have an intention, and practice makes perfect. Once you put in that work, and once you put in that effort, know that you do belong there, that you do deserve to be there, and you’re gonna crush it.”
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 05: Angela Benton
Angela Benton talks about starting NewMe Accelerator, whose black and brown founders have raised $42 million in venture capital. Super-early to Black tech media with BlackWeb 2.0, she discusses building her personal brand while being a single mother, battling cancer, and whether or not most of the “diversity” gains in Silicon Valley will go to privileged white women.
She particularly wants young Black girls to know they can do anything they set their minds to.
“Your life does not have to be binary. Women are not black and white. We can be many different things. I’m not one thing, I’m not just an engineer. I also was a track athlete. I was a basketball athlete. I was prom queen. I was all that in one. I didn’t have to pick and choose between what society wants me to be and what I feel like I am,” Davis said.
