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An indigene of Ondo State, raised successful Jos, Plateau State, Dr. Mercy Fash’s communicative is 1 of resilience, determination, and impact. From her aboriginal days successful Nigeria to becoming a respected researcher and pedagogue successful the United States, she has dedicated her beingness to empowering students and breaking barriers successful subject and engineering. In this exclusive interrogation with our correspondent, Dr. Fash shares her travel from Nigeria to the United States, her passionateness for research, and her connection for the adjacent procreation of Nigerian scholars.
Q: Can you archer america astir your aboriginal beingness and however your Nigerian upbringing shaped your vocation path?
A: I americium primitively from Ondo State but grew up successful Jos, Plateau State. Growing up successful the North exposed maine to diverseness and resilience. It besides instilled successful maine a heavy respect for acquisition and community, which person been guiding principles successful my career. My aboriginal experiences taught maine the privilege of acquisition and those aboriginal experiences shaped my determination to prosecute excellence and to usage my cognition to uplift others.
Q: You began your world travel successful Nigeria earlier moving to the U.S. What was that modulation like?
A: I earned my B.Sc. successful Computer Engineering astatine Caritas University, Enugu. My thesis focused connected designing and processing a hunt motor nexus hub strategy to linked probe sources for casual access. Transitioning to the U.S. for postgraduate studies astatine N.C. A&T was some challenging and rewarding. I obtained my M.Sc. and Ph.D. successful Technology Management there. The modulation demanded hard work, self-learning and development, but it besides opened opportunities to prosecute successful high-impact probe that continues to animate my enactment today.
Q: Your Ph.D. probe has gained recognition. What is its cardinal focus?
A: My dissertation is titled “Development of a Femalized Kinesthetic Learning Model to Increase Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Career Interests successful African American Middle School Girls.” In elemental terms, my probe is astir helping much young girls spot themselves successful engineering and operation careers.
The AEC manufacture faces 2 large problems: not capable skilled workers, and precise fewer women entering the field. To tackle this, I created a hands-on learning attack wherever students, particularly girls, larn by doing. Instead of conscionable sitting successful a classroom, they instrumentality portion successful fun, applicable activities similar gathering bridges, creating models, oregon moving connected mini-construction projects. These activities marque engineering little intimidating and much exciting. When girls get to spot that they tin design, build, and lick problems, it builds their assurance and makes them much apt to see engineering and operation arsenic existent vocation paths. My eventual extremity is to adjacent the sex spread and animate a new, divers procreation of engineers and builders who volition signifier the future.
Q: Beyond research, you person been actively progressive successful teaching and mentoring. How galore students person you worked with?
A: Over the years, I person mentored and taught much than 250 students successful engineering, technology, and subject departments. Many of them person gone connected into antithetic industries, oregon to contiguous their probe astatine nationalist conferences, and immoderate person adjacent won institutional, authorities and nationalist awards. Seeing my students win has been 1 of the top joys of my career.
Q: Which awards and recognitions mean the astir to you?
A: I americium grateful for each of them, but the Graduate Rising Scholar Award, the Women successful Science and Technology Service Award (2022), and the Outstanding Senior Graduate Teaching Assistant Award (2024) basal out. For me, these awards are not conscionable idiosyncratic achievements. They are a testament to the resilience, brilliance, and dedication of the students I person had the privilege to guide, and they correspond the collaborative tone of my enactment with colleagues and mentors. Each designation reminds maine that occurrence is not achieved alone, it is built done community, teamwork, and the willingness to assistance others arsenic you climb.
Q: What connection bash you person for young Nigerians aspiring to travel successful your footsteps?
My proposal is elemental but powerful: imagination boldly, enactment diligently, and ne'er suffer hope. Every travel comes with its stock of challenges, but it is resilience, focus, and religion that transportation you through. I judge acquisition is 1 of the top tools we person to alteration lives, not conscionable individually, but for families, communities, and adjacent nations. To the Nigerian youth, particularly young women, I privation you to spot yourselves not conscionable arsenic participants but arsenic leaders successful science, technology, engineering, and beyond. The satellite is waiting for your ideas, your innovations, and your courage.
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