These women achieved great things by knowing the importance of education as a basis for future endeavors. At BMCC, we support and encourage all of our students in achieving their goals and their dreams.
“Don’t ever think you’re too small to achieve anything great. Don’t settle for less. Dream big and do it.”
Gabriella Uwadiegwu
Senior Software Engineer; Founder of Wetech, a non-profit supporting women in tech in Nigeria; Founding Partner of Archangel Fund, which invests in tech companies founded by women in Africa; BMCC Alumna
“If someone says it won’t work, figure it out . . . and if it looks feasible—go for it. When you finally get to the point where it works, it’s the best feeling ever.”
Christine P. Hendon, PhD
Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering; Vice Dean of Diversity and Strategic Partnerships; Provost’s Senior Faculty Teaching Scholar, Columbia University
“If you haven’t failed yet, you haven’t tried anything.”
Reshma Saujani, MPP, JD
Founder of Girls Who Code
“Believe in yourself, power through and keep your inner circle filled only with people who believe in you.”
Karen (K) Medlin, PhD
Applied Mathematician developing new methods for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence models; BMCC Alumna
“Anything you don’t know is going to be hard at first, but if you stay the course, put the time and effort in, it will become seamless eventually.”
Jeanette Epps, PhD
Aerospace engineer and NASA astronaut; first Black woman astronaut to visit the International Space Station
“Be who you are; find your people.”
K. E. Saavik Ford, PhD
Professor of Astronomy at BMCC; Doctoral faculty at CUNY Graduate Center; Research Associate in the Dept. of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History
“You will be able to make lasting impacts in your community, and around the world.”
Chimzy Ugbala, MEng, MPH
Health and Safety Hygienist; Founder/Exec. Director of Help Along Foundation (HAF), assisting schools in Nigeria; BMCC Alumna
“Breaking stereotypes about who can be a scientist and creating more opportunities for students to experience science has always been a passion of mine.”
Odaelys Pollard, PhD
Microbiologist and Immunologist; Director of Research at BMCC
“We can be there to catch each other, hold each other up and lift each other as we all rise.”
Liesl B. Jones, PhD
Neuroscientist; Associate Provost at BMCC
“Aim for the stars, so that at least you can reach the treetops.”
Shirley Ann Jackson, PhD
Physicist; former President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; first African American woman to have earned a doctorate at MIT and the second African American woman in the United States to earn a doctorate in physics
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
Jane Goodall, PhD
Primatologist and Anthropologist; Conservationist
“Cultivate your specific passions but also be bold and explore beyond your immediate interests.”
Rebecca Panko, PhD
Evolutionary Plant Biologist specializing in urban landscapes, focused on resolving issues such as environmental injustice and greenspace inequity; BMCC Alumna