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27-year-old woman becomes first African American woman to earn Ph.D. in Nuclear engineering, wins award at US university

An intelligent 27-year-old identified as Ciara Sivels was named the first black woman to earn a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering.

After graduating and winning an award from the University of Michigan in the United States, she set the record and opened up opportunities for black people.

She started her education in technology at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

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Ciara proceeded to the University of Michigan to earn her record-breaking Ph.D. degree.

I wanted to study culinary arts

In an interview with Huffington Post, she revealed that she was interested in culinary arts in high school.

However, her teacher convinced her to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

27-year-old becomes first black woman to earn PhD in Nuclear engineering

She said, “I remember the teacher from that class saying ‘Oh you’re really smart, you should think about doing something other than culinary.”

Ciara revealed that she switched to engineering and ended up in the nuclear program at MIT after that encounter.

This ended with her receiving an award along with her Ph.D. degree. She revealed that during her time at the program, she established an organization called Women in Engineering.

The organization aimed to expose more black women to STEM. She maintained that representation and exposure were big things to her. Ciara stated that things would’ve been easier if she had been exposed at a different time.

Sivels also expressed that exposure was key, and representation helps because people who look like you can help you up when you’re failing.

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Nigerian lady bags PhD despite undergoing two pregnancies

Meanwhile, an outstanding Nigerian woman named Bolanle Solomon-Adewusi earned a Doctorate in Computer Science despite having to scale through two pregnancies.

Bolanle Solomon-Adewusi earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria, before proceeding to the University of Manchester, UK, for a Master’s in Computer Science and Information Technology Management.