Biologist
She uses social media to bring science and herself as a Black female, scientist role model to a larger audience.
EARLY CHILDHOOD INTERESTS FORECAST A CAREER
As a child, RB loved seeing what would happen when she mixed 2 things together. Sometimes she raided her mother’s cosmetics to assess the effects of combining nail polish, lotion, and other ingredients.
ROLE MODELS: POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE INFLUENCE
Positive influence: RB’s first thought of a career in science was to be a meteorologist, based on the informative and cheerful presentations of daily weather reports by a national TV weatherman, Al Roker, who was – not coincidentally, a Black minority like herself.
Negative influence – The absence of a role model: Although RB knew early on that she wanted to do something with science, she rarely heard anything about Black female scientists; indeed, for a long time she didn’t know that they existed. This changed when at age 10, RB attended a summer camp and heard about Mae Jemison, the first Black female astronaut.
ACADEMIC EDUCATION
RB decided to pursue her goal of being a scientist by working hard in school, from grammar school through high school, college, and graduate school, eventually achieving her Master’s Degree in Biology and her Ph.D. (Doctorate) in Science Education.
The principle focus of RB’s career is molecular biology research, looking at how proteins function in the cell.
EDUCATING THE PUBLIC
As of the Fall, 2021, RB appears often on television in her District of Columbia area as “Raven the Science Maven” to explain complicated science issues to general audiences. Her Twitter account has over 100,000 followers in addition to her appearances on Tik Tok and YouTube.
CAREER CHALLENGE: ADHD
As a child, RB was hyperactive and disruptive. Her mother patiently coped with RB’s behavior. She was not diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder until her high school years, when she started to have major “roadblocks” to her attention, which caused her to struggle with her schoolwork. Her mother took RB to the family doctor for his opinion; he scheduled testing, diagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder and prescribed medication.
Now as an adult, accomplished scientist with a public following / celebrity status, RB admits to still having occasional random thoughts just “spit out” when she is stressed. “For example, I’ll have a project deadline and then my brain says, ‘That’s nice, but I have a great idea about something else’ so I have to work that out, often with the help of my ADHD medication.”
COPING WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER
RB’S recommendation from her years of experience: Be yourself, not afraid of being vibrant and fun. If a physician prescribes medication, use that tool to help yourself and stick with the program.
