AV俱乐部

Studying engineering on the Truro campus enabled Jennifer Ladipo (Class of 鈥�16) to combine her love of math and science all against the backdrop of a small town.

鈥淚 really enjoyed the campus and town," Ladipo recalls. "I enjoyed how small it was. I didn鈥檛 realize how cool it was to have such small classes."

The small-town experience also set her on the path to big things.

While studying in Truro,聽Ladipo found confidence in her creativity and writing ability and was inspired to create website. The site aims to encourage young girls to view themselves as both feminine and scientific by telling representative stories.聽

In addition to writing most of the content,聽Ladipo also runs the day-to-day operations of the site.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I could say I鈥檓 doing traditional engineering, but in the content creation I use a lot of my engineering background in a non-traditional way,鈥� she says.

Now, Lapido has been putting that knowledge to work as national program manager for Black Youth and Girls at , Canada's leading science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education outreach organization.

She works tirelessly with 43 network members across Canada, including SuperNova at AV俱乐部, to create content that brings engineering and science to life. Drawing on her course experiences, she creates hands-on activities like labs experienced during her engineering studies in Truro.

鈥淪he's a true inspiration to the profession, and a testament to the idea that anything is possible with hard work and a little bit of magic,鈥� says Engineering staff member Mandi Wilson.

Stories as outreach

Ladipo鈥檚 online storytelling on TheSTEMGirl led her to publish five books aimed at representing young women in STEM. Her first book,聽The Red Elephant, began as an assignment in a required writing course on the Truro Campus. The course, taught by Deborah Stiles, inspired her to write.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 confident in my writing; you don鈥檛 know many Black authors,鈥� she explains. 鈥淭o be honest, I didn鈥檛 know any off the top of my head. I didn鈥檛 know if I could write. And then Professor Stiles told me 鈥榊ou have a gift for dialogue鈥�. And I heard that, and I was like if this professional lady thinks that I trust her. I come back to that a lot, so if I am not confident in my writing or am freaking out, I think of her."

Ladipo聽continued her work in engineering outreach during her Industrial Engineering studies on the Sexton Campus, working with Imhotep's Legacy Academy 鈥� an organization working to increase access for youth of African heritage to higher education in science and engineering.

A signed copy of Jennifer鈥檚 book,聽Tess Makes a Mess, is on display in Banting Building on the Truro Campus. It tells the story of two young Black girls and their quest to build a robot.

Her continuing efforts to motivate a generation of young woman and Black youth will no doubt help to build the next generation of engineers.