Shamaria Engram has created a new milestone at the University of South Florida in Florida, United States, after becoming the university’s first black woman to get a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering.
Shamaria Engram, who made strides to acquire her degree during a period when a pandemic was sweeping the world, was able to successfully achieve the feat of erasing the more than 40-year-old record of the institution.
Her outstanding achievement was acknowledged by the University of South Florida through its official social media handles.
“Shamaria Engram is making University of South Florida history as the first Black woman to graduate with a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering,” the university posted on Twitter.
Engram began her higher education at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida, where she excelled in her studies and earned a Bachelor’s degree in computer engineering.
After completing her Bachelor’s degree, she enrolled at the University of South Florida to pursue a Master’s degree in Computer Science and a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering.
She earned a Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS) and a Master of Science in Computer Engineering (MSCE).
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Engram proceeded to enroll for her Ph.D. degree immediately after her Masters and finally made history as the first-ever black woman to earn a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of South Florida.
Engram explains that although there were times that were tough due to the fact that she was the only Black woman in many of these rooms, she was motivated to complete her education and acquire her degree so that she could follow the job that she had always dreamed of.
“That motivated me to keep on pushing. I can’t be the first one and stop. The Ph.D. is hard and with me being the only Black woman in this department, you don’t have a lot of people to talk to about your research that gets you culturally,” she said in an interview with WFLA.
“I think it makes me work harder to get more people into this field that look like me because it’s definitely uncomfortable at this time.”
She hopes to inspire many other Black women to pursue their passions, no matter the field.
