Celebrating Black Excellence: Shad Alum embraces a growth mindset to pursue her goals and champion representation in STEAM
As Shanya Samuel works to build the periodic table her and the other students from the Black Student Association have created to celebrate the contributions of Black individuals to STEAM fields, she feels inspired by the accomplishments of those who came before her. She had not always seen herself as the “right fit” for STEAM, but her perception has since changed significantly and she feels a sense of responsibility to help other Black youth see themselves in professions they otherwise might have discounted.
“I didn’t used to think that I had a place in STEAM. I wasn’t the best at math and I kind of believed that meant that I wasn’t suited for certain fields, that anything science and technology was something I wasn’t smart enough for, and so I never imagined myself pursuing it.”
Her perception began to change when she started to work with Leadership by Design, a youth program run by the Lifelong Leadership Institute. There, she was introduced to a growth mindset that showed her that knowledge can be acquired and developed through learning and hard work.
“A mentor at Leadership by Design really showed me that just because I don’t know something now doesn’t mean I’m never going to know it. Nobody is born knowing all they’re ever going to know, and if I changed how I was looking at my own ability it would help me to see that I could improve my skills and get better.”
This change in perspective really helped Shanya to see herself pursuing new goals, so when she was told about Shad, she felt much more confident applying to a STEAM and entrepreneurship-focused program. “When I was told about Shad, I knew it was something that would really benefit me and help me to continue to grow my skills.”
When she arrived at Shad’s Wilfrid Laurier University campus, Shanya was excited to dive into the program and discover new ways of looking at fields of study she had only recently started to believe she could be a part of. She was excited to be at Laurier, a university with a reputable Kinesiology program that allowed her to engage in some biology-related workshops.
“We were able to participate in an experiment where someone had a device attached to their head while they watched a simulation of a needle being inserted into their leg. We watched the student’s brainwaves react to the simulation, how their leg would move, and it was incredible, I could have watched it over and over.”
The workshop spoke to Shanya’s fascination with neuroscience. She hopes to attend McMaster University for their Biopsychology program, since she has long been interested in the human brain and how it governs human behaviour. She wants to pursue the kind of study that truly interests her and where she feels she can have an impact professionally.
“I’m really interested in why we do certain things and how our brain reacts. For instance, if someone has ADHD, I’d love to study how their brain might react when they are able to focus on something and what their brainwaves might tell us in that instant that can inform treatment. I would love to have a career that includes that kind of study.”
Though science is more her niche, she loved learning about topics she hadn’t engaged with before attending Shad. She found she was able to learn a lot from other Shads, noting that the breadth of individual experiences of the students in the program meant they had a lot to learn from one another.
“It was incredible to learn from the other Shads. Some of the other students have been involved in DECA, which is a business program for high school students, and they shared what they had learned there, which was awesome because I might have never learned these lessons had I not met and worked with them at Shad.”
In fact, she has taken some of the entrepreneurial skills she learned back to her own high school where she is implementing them in the running of a bake sale organized by the Black Student Association to support Black History Month. In the past, the students have donated the money to charity, but this year the students are hoping to raise funds to support a field trip to visit the Museum of Slavery and Civil Rights in Alabama.
“I feel the importance of this month is to really share Black history, as well as the amazing accomplishments and contributions of Black people to the world. That was the point of creating the periodic table showcasing the contributions of Black professionals to STEAM. Many people don’t know these individuals and the work they did, and it’s important to share that.”
Representation is very important to Shanya and in many ways motivates her desire to pursue STEAM. Seeing a diversity of people working in a range of professions helps to ensure that everyone feels that they have a place there, and that their views and experiences matter for real life outcomes.
“We need to have different perspectives in fields of study to ensure that whole groups of people are not being overlooked in the development of technologies and medicine. There have been times when not including certain people in important areas of study has led to serious consequences, so making sure that there is representation is really important. I hope I can share my experiences and encourage others like me to trust their ability to do anything they set their minds to.”
