Reflections: A Year After Earning My PhD

It's been a while since I posted on my blog, but I wanted to reflect on my time over the past year since I defended my PhD. 

A year ago, on Wednesday, July 12th, I became the first Nigerian, 4th Black woman, and 6th Black student to defend a PhD in Computer Science from the Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science at Cornell University!

Since then, I’ve started my career at the world’s foremost think tank, attended numerous prominent convenings, had 50+ speaking engagements, reached 200+ citations of my research, and engaged in collaborations that have produced nearly a dozen research papers, policy commentaries, white papers, and technical reports.

Data from the Computing Research Association (CRA) Taulbee Survey, the principal source of information on the enrollment, production, and employment of PhDs in computer science, information science, and computer engineering in North America (United States and Canada), also indicates that I was 1/18 Black students and 1/387 women to graduate with a PhD in Computer Science during the 2022-2023 academic year.

While the numbers for women CS PhD graduates have gradually increased over the past decade, the production of Black CS PhD graduates has remained dismal, never exceeding more than 2% of all awarded computer science doctoral degrees in North America. As the world continues to contemplate the harms caused by technical systems, particularly those enabled by AI, how do we reconcile that communities most likely to experience disparate impacts continue to be underrepresented in researching, developing, and critically evaluating these systems?

This past year has taught me much about myself, both personally and professionally. It has also helped me define the kind of research I want to pursue and the impact I want to make within the fields of AI, global development, and technology governance. Over the next year, I look forward to pursuing new opportunities to scale my impact and create opportunities for marginalized voices to contribute to AI research and shape public policy. 

In the meantime, I hope to revive this blog and provide more resources for those looking to pursue graduate programs and earn graduate degrees, especially in STEM. While I may no longer be a "collegesista," this platform will always be a part of my identity. I appreciate everyone who has read this blog over the years, supported my work, and shared my content. Stay tuned!