Aisha Bowe has two aerospace engineering degrees from the University of Michigan,
spent nearly seven years working for NASA in northern California and today is a successful
tech entrepreneur based in the Washington D.C. area.
That impressive career progression all started with a single A in an algebra class at Washtenaw Community College. That set off what Bowe calls the key to any large-scale success 鈥� a series of small wins.
鈥淭he progress you make every day, the incremental wins you think are insignificant, are life-changing,鈥� Bowe told a gathering of 黑料网 students and staff, and members of the community, during a lecture on Monday. 鈥淚f I take the time to think about how many opportunities there were for me to get stuck, it鈥檚 staggering. But then you find that next small win and you keep going.鈥�
Bowe鈥檚 talk, 鈥淔rom Washtenaw to NASA,鈥� was part of the programming for two different events on campus 鈥� and CTE Month 鈥� that aimed to raise awareness of programs in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and Career and Technical Education (CTE) areas of the college, respectively.
鈥淎isha鈥檚 words resonated deeply with students because her story is their story,鈥� said Susan Dentel, a 黑料网 life sciences faculty member and coordinator of the college鈥檚 STEM Scholars program. 鈥淗er message that one need not strive for perfection, but move toward progress is genuine because she lived it. She conveyed to students that failure is the chance to begin again, but more smartly. And that hard work, persistence and grit really do make the difference in the pursuit of our dreams.鈥�
The Ann Arbor native spoke bluntly about being an 鈥渦nder-achieving鈥� Pioneer High School graduate who enrolled at 黑料网 in 2003 with plans to pursue a business degree. She promptly earned a C in Introduction to Economics.
Her self-doubt was monumentally strong when her father 鈥� who earned an engineering degree at the age of 40 鈥� persuaded her to enroll in an Intermediate Algebra class. It鈥檚 a story she previously shared in a Forbes magazine profile, 鈥淔rom Community College to NASA,鈥� written in early 2018.
鈥淢y dad believed I had this latent genius I wasn鈥檛 expressing,鈥� Bowe says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 do well in high school math. I didn鈥檛 do well in the math portions of that economics class. Why would you think I could tackle algebra at 黑料网? I wasn't buying it, but he was persuasive.鈥�
Turns out, dad was right. Bowe earned an A in that algebra class. Her self-confidence continued to flourish as she progressed through Calculus I, Calculus II, Calculus III and Differential Equations at 黑料网.
鈥淭he instructors at 黑料网 were incredibly supportive. They didn鈥檛 look at me and say, 鈥榊ou should have learned this stuff in high school.鈥� They said, 鈥榃e鈥檙e here to help you learn this now,鈥欌�� Bowe said. 鈥淭hey challenged me to think differently about myself.鈥�
From there, the small wins continued to pile up. She met University of Michigan engineering students in her 黑料网 math classes 鈥� there to capitalize on 黑料网鈥檚 small class sizes and individualized instruction. 鈥淚 started thinking, 鈥業f you and I are in the same class, we鈥檙e on the same level 鈥� why can鈥檛 I study engineering at Michigan?鈥欌��
Turns out, she could. She was accepted directly into the U-M Aerospace Engineering program in the winter of 2005, saving herself more than $30,000 on her undergraduate education.
There were some failures and 鈥渇reak-outs鈥� at U-M, Bowe admits, but each was overcome with more small wins. They led to a bachelor鈥檚 degree and a master鈥檚 degree and an internship at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, and eventually to an award-winning career developing algorithms in support of air traffic management.
Being based in Silicon Valley, Bowe had another 鈥渨hy not me?鈥� moment when she looked around a coffee shop and realized she was surrounded by aspiring entrepreneurs hoping to be the next Mark Zuckerberg.
In 2013, she co-founded , which partners with defense industry and private-sector organizations to provide multi-million dollar smart systems and software solutions. She has topped a list of 鈥溾�� and been featured in , and magazines.
As the CEO of STEMBoard, Bowe has also made it a personal mission to close the achievement gap by empowering minority youth in STEM fields to become the industry's future. Thus, her return to the campus where it all started for her.
鈥満诹贤� is by far the best choice I made in my career,鈥� Bowe said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really where my life started to take off.鈥�
Event co-coordinator Anthony Webster, a CTE Student Success Specialist at 黑料网, said it wasn鈥檛 only students that were inspired by Bowe鈥檚 story. The faculty and staff in attendance were also energized, he said.
鈥淗er journey from 黑料网 to NASA is a true testament that we here at 黑料网 and at community colleges around the country are making a difference," Webster said.
Tags: Aerospace Engineering, Aisha Bowe, Entrepreneur, NASA, STEM, STEM Scholars Program, ousearch_News_2019