Keeping Black students in STEM

Abstract

For years, STEM programs have tried to attract Black grads and undergrads. There’s a new push to retain these students—and emulate the university program that seems to have had the most success. The science curriculum at Akeema Onalaja’s high school in South Los Angeles, CA, ended with biology. Yet she pursued a career in biochemistry, knowing that becoming a researcher—let alone one who is Black—wouldn’t be easy. Initially, she did well at Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles in CA. But after an unexpected death in the family, her grades plummeted sophomore year. “I came from a single-parent household where drug abuse made it so I couldn’t even go home on the weekends…there aren’t a lot of professors who can relate,” says Onalaja, recalling only one of her all-White and seemingly middle-class professors asking about the drop in her grades. Persevering, Onalaja graduated with a 3.0 GPA. She still aspired to attend graduate school, although it would turn out to be a tall order. Despite attempts to level the playing field, Black college students continue to leave STEM at higher rates than their White peers. Several university programs are trying to change that trend. Image credit: Dave Cutler (artist). “I knew some of the conversations that my teachers had with other students applying to grad school, and I felt like I didn't get the same level of care,” Onalaja says. “That made me believe I really couldn't make it, and getting my first rejection letter from grad school solidified what I had thought.” After being denied admission to a graduate program, Onalaja left the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research track in 2014 for a science-related sales position. She takes responsibility for this turn. Had Onalaja been more open about her struggles, she says she perhaps could have received …