Represent!

Engineering students uncover ways to build a more inclusive field

To understand what it takes to make a deeply inclusive culture, the students and faculty of the SCU Engineering Diversity and Inclusion Council are bringing together leaders from a myriad of backgrounds for conversations over Zoom.

The monthly discussion series Walking the Walk Together runs through January in hopes of “starting conversations that turn words into actionable steps.”

So far, speakers have included NASA engineers, cancer researchers, civil rights attorneys, journalists, and musicians discussing, advocating for, and creating inclusive spaces. The Nov. 12 talk includes hip hop artist Brookfield Duece, former director of the Johnson Space Center and first Hispanic woman in space Ellen Ochoa, and other leaders.

During the October edition of Walking the Walk Together, Uchechukwu Agwu ’18, who is now a Ph.D. student at Carnegie Mellon University, urged people to approach institutions with metrics and facts that create accountability and deepen understanding while pushing for change.

Advocates need not be overwhelmed with doing all the hard work themselves, Agwu says. “Focus on one thing you can do really well and you can begin to make lasting change.”

Catch a replay of the October talk or any of the other conversations on YouTube.

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