[Music]
I walk into this community room I’m
about to deliver a workshop for a group
of youth in a Scarborough community
I walk in there confidently because I’m
all excited I’m happy and before I can
even really properly introduce myself a
girl that looks like she could have been
my sister and looks at me and says wait
a minute who are you where are you from
what do you do
are you a social worker in my mind I was
like brood um I was about to get there
but actually I’m a scientist and I’m
gonna show you guys some different
experiments and work with the team here
to get you guys engaged nobody looked
that excited and this girl looks back at
me and says no you’re not I was like oh
okay um actually I am and why would you
even say that
really serious she’s like well honestly
I don’t know you just don’t look like
you’d be a scientist it was a little
embarrassing cuz all the other kids were
kind of like I don’t know I don’t know
like maybe they got the wrong person
um but beyond just being embarrassed it
dawned on me that that was the very
reason that I was in that room and that
I understood why that girl didn’t even
think that I was a scientist when I said
I was so my name is Eugenia dudu doctor
Eugenia do oh dear and yeah put some
respect
and I just want to share a little bit of
my story today as to how I became a
scientist and what what events occurred
to allow me to be in that community room
speaking to that girl I grew up in a
low-income community in West Toronto
raised by a single mother primarily and
I had a lot of support from my community
and the people around me and with that
support whether it be for my church my
family my friends it really instilled a
deep passion for community community
work advocacy so I was all in it I was
on the youth councils I was in the civic
action groups
I loved community and I loved community
building it was everything for me
however something else was also
happening during all that community work
you see it just started off with you
know like Kings some episodes of Bill
Nye and Magic School Bus
and then this passion started getting a
little bigger I had a really deep dark
secret it was kind of embarrassing I
loved science like I loved it and the
reason why it was embarrassing for me or
it was weird is because I had a really
strange love-hate relationship with
science I mean it was interesting it was
pretty cool but there weren’t people in
my community lining up to go be
scientists I wasn’t really seeing myself
and who I wanted to be portrayed in my
textbooks and television I had really
negative perceptions about science
growing up first of all looked hard
second of all it also looked like
everyone that was a scientist was super
like robotic had white hair mustache
glasses I didn’t want any of those
things so in my mind if anyone ever told
me oh you like science maybe you should
pursue it I’d be like I’m gonna stop you
right there this is just an interest you
need to back off and I never wanted it
to be anything more than that things
to change a little bit for me in the
middle of high school I had the
opportunity to participate in a really
specialized course in my school that had
me actually working hands-on and having
the opportunity to experiment with
different things I got exposed to
research real research and in my mind I
was like oh this is super interesting I
might need to keep doing this I started
getting really good grades and I was
like oh crap okay okay this might
actually be a thing and for me the
tipping point I participated in this
program that was actually geared to
youth from communities like mine – who
looked like me and also to indigenous
youth and this program really gave me
the opportunity to not only participate
and meet different researchers and
healthcare practitioners but it also
gave me the confidence to be like yeah
you know what I’m just gonna do this
after high school we’ll see what happens
so I did it I decided to pursue science
after high school I enrolled in a
university program I was doing it and
while I was in university I was I was
pretty excited I mean I was getting some
good grades and when I would I’d be like
hey look at me I’m so smart it was great
however I suffered from crippling
impostor syndrome no matter what was
happening and no matter what was going
on from the ups to the failures I still
felt like mmm
I don’t know if you really belong here I
mean there were times when I would look
at some of the assignments or things
that I had to do and not knowing what
the end point would be started becoming
really really disheartening not only
that I so wasn’t really seeing people
that looked like me I represented my
lived experience so it was still hard
for me to feel like yeah you deserve to
be here
after a while though with some support
and encouragement from my family and
primarily support an encouragement from
amazing
profs who gave me amazing research
opportunities I started to realize you
know what I do deserve to be here I
think for me the main change in my life
and one of the most pivotal moments was
a conversation that I had with one of my
best friend Sarah de Silva we’re sitting
chilling in the cafeteria talking and
she looks at me and asks me a very
important question she said Oh Eugenia
would you offer to your PhD to be honest
I was like girl
hell no I am NOT trying to be in school
longer than I already have I’m not
trying to go through all of the things
that you have to go through in order to
obtain it I’m just trying to live my
life so this was cute gonna get my
undergrad but I’m I think I’m done after
this there’s something that Sarah looks
back at me and said that we’ll always
stick with me she’s like well I think
you can do it so you should and to be
honest that with a lot of other events
was one of the really big moments that I
decided you know what I am gonna
continue and do my PhD while doing my
PhD I was able to meet incredible people
I had the opportunity to work in a lab
that was actually at the forefront of
research we were dealing with cancer
therapeutics developing disease
diagnostics and this was with a group of
people that I can honestly say are
hilarious amazing dope didn’t fit into
any of the stereotypes that I had placed
or labels that I had placed on them
prior and I can’t help but think that I
wouldn’t have met them if I didn’t take
this step what was awesome is that
together all of us were kind of being
able to figure out the solutions to very
critical problems and actually
contribute to meaningful research in the
field it was an amazing experience
but anyone who worked with me in lab
would tell you that I always had one
foot in lab one foot
back in the community I told you
community was at the core of what I who
I was and what I wanted to do so in that
my two passions there was always kind of
this tension between them near the end
of my PhD I started getting super
confused because I was like okay what am
I gonna do after because I’m passionate
about so many things and you know I’m a
scientist so I guess I got got to do
sciency stuff for the rest of my life
again I was putting scientists in a box
I was relegating what I was doing in
science to only being able to do one
thing and I couldn’t really see my
passion for community and science
intersecting but as I began to reflect
on what had actually brought me to this
point to be able to work in this lab and
to be part of this groundbreaking
research I realized that it was those
tipping point opportunities that took me
from sisse mere interest to actually a
tangible reality in my life for my
future so with that I started to realize
that you know what there’s a way that
you can bring community and science
together and that could actually be a
combination of my passions today as you
know I have the privilege and honour of
being able to run an organization that
works with youth from confirm
communities similar to mine to get them
engaged and motivated in science
technology engineering and math and
encourage them to overcome some of the
crippling impostor syndrome that comes
with being underrepresented in a field
for me when I think of the unlikely
scientist if I could ever go back if I
could speak to an unlikely scientists if
there are some unlikely scientists in
this room I would give them a couple of
these pro tips
pro tip number one you ready cease and
seek opportunity for me there are a lot
of opportunities that were afforded to
me it was up to me to actually go
through them and give it a try I can
tell you right now not all of those
opportunities involved a PhD
or learning about chemistry but
everything I didn’t like I actually was
able to make an informed decision as to
why I didn’t like it because I tried it
and I realized I didn’t and sometimes
that’s better than not knowing what you
don’t know my second protein understand
that there are barriers but you can
overcome them I don’t think a lot of
people appreciate that for some people
in this room there are more barriers and
other – than others – engaging in
science these barriers could be in race
socioeconomic status gender whatever the
light and whatever spectrum of privilege
you fall on you might need to be an
advocate or an ally for underrepresented
groups you might be part of an
underrepresented group and you need to
actually realize that you deserve to be
in the spaces that you inhabit and
overcome the barriers are presented in
front of you my third pro tip commit to
the cause let me tell you something
doing a PhD in chemistry is hard was the
hard R it is very hard and there was
nothing easy about it for every success
it was met with failure as well whether
it be thinking that I was a failure or
failure with one of my experiments I had
to learn how to finesse failure I had to
learn how to cope with failure and I had
to learn how to overcome it and come out
like well I’m still gonna get my PhD
Dozo
and in sometimes you need to let
yourself know that in the midst of you
struggling and studying and doing what
you have to do there is still a cause
and a goal that you are going towards
there will be failure there will be
success commit to it until you’re done
my last tip for you I’m probably the
most important is be your self I told
you guys that I didn’t feel like I
belonged in science because nothing none
of the narratives around who a scientist
could be fit in with who I was when I
became a scientist and when I got into
science I realized that science needed
me science needed my swag science me and
my passion science needed my ratchet
copying science needed everything that I
am and you know what at the end of the
day what you bring to the table will
change the field that you’re in and no
one can bring it except for you so at
the end of the day forget those false
perceptions of what a scientist needs to
be the scientist needs to be you whoever
you are
that’s a new scientist that’s in the
field you’re on the same next at the end
of the day if I could look back and see
that little girl in that community room
in Scarborough I didn’t respond well to
her because I didn’t have time to and I
was also kind of embarrassed but if I
could look back to her and talk to her
I’d say you know what this is my story
this is what I struggled with I
understand why you don’t believe me but
I’m here to tell you that if you want to
do this this is something that interests
you don’t let anyone hold you back and
do it and you can do it you a girl from
a low-income community you a black girl
with your plots can actually migrate and
navigate through the system with support
and become a scientist if that is
something that you wanted to do I’ll
leave you with one of my favorite quotes
by a lady by the name of Erica Hairston
who’s a black woman in tech she says
numerous societal problems are waiting
to be solved
and I realize more and more that we need
untapped and underestimated minds to be
part of the solutions thank you
[Applause]
I walk into this community room I’m
about to deliver a workshop for a group
of youth in a Scarborough community
I walk in there confidently because I’m
all excited I’m happy and before I can
even really properly introduce myself a
girl that looks like she could have been
my sister and looks at me and says wait
a minute who are you where are you from
what do you do
are you a social worker in my mind I was
like brood um I was about to get there
but actually I’m a scientist and I’m
gonna show you guys some different
experiments and work with the team here
to get you guys engaged nobody looked
that excited and this girl looks back at
me and says no you’re not I was like oh
okay um actually I am and why would you
even say that
really serious she’s like well honestly
I don’t know you just don’t look like
you’d be a scientist it was a little
embarrassing cuz all the other kids were
kind of like I don’t know I don’t know
like maybe they got the wrong person
um but beyond just being embarrassed it
dawned on me that that was the very
reason that I was in that room and that
I understood why that girl didn’t even
think that I was a scientist when I said
I was so my name is Eugenia dudu doctor
Eugenia do oh dear and yeah put some
respect
and I just want to share a little bit of
my story today as to how I became a
scientist and what what events occurred
to allow me to be in that community room
speaking to that girl I grew up in a
low-income community in West Toronto
raised by a single mother primarily and
I had a lot of support from my community
and the people around me and with that
support whether it be for my church my
family my friends it really instilled a
deep passion for community community
work advocacy so I was all in it I was
on the youth councils I was in the civic
action groups
I loved community and I loved community
building it was everything for me
however something else was also
happening during all that community work
you see it just started off with you
know like Kings some episodes of Bill
Nye and Magic School Bus
and then this passion started getting a
little bigger I had a really deep dark
secret it was kind of embarrassing I
loved science like I loved it and the
reason why it was embarrassing for me or
it was weird is because I had a really
strange love-hate relationship with
science I mean it was interesting it was
pretty cool but there weren’t people in
my community lining up to go be
scientists I wasn’t really seeing myself
and who I wanted to be portrayed in my
textbooks and television I had really
negative perceptions about science
growing up first of all looked hard
second of all it also looked like
everyone that was a scientist was super
like robotic had white hair mustache
glasses I didn’t want any of those
things so in my mind if anyone ever told
me oh you like science maybe you should
pursue it I’d be like I’m gonna stop you
right there this is just an interest you
need to back off and I never wanted it
to be anything more than that things
to change a little bit for me in the
middle of high school I had the
opportunity to participate in a really
specialized course in my school that had
me actually working hands-on and having
the opportunity to experiment with
different things I got exposed to
research real research and in my mind I
was like oh this is super interesting I
might need to keep doing this I started
getting really good grades and I was
like oh crap okay okay this might
actually be a thing and for me the
tipping point I participated in this
program that was actually geared to
youth from communities like mine – who
looked like me and also to indigenous
youth and this program really gave me
the opportunity to not only participate
and meet different researchers and
healthcare practitioners but it also
gave me the confidence to be like yeah
you know what I’m just gonna do this
after high school we’ll see what happens
so I did it I decided to pursue science
after high school I enrolled in a
university program I was doing it and
while I was in university I was I was
pretty excited I mean I was getting some
good grades and when I would I’d be like
hey look at me I’m so smart it was great
however I suffered from crippling
impostor syndrome no matter what was
happening and no matter what was going
on from the ups to the failures I still
felt like mmm
I don’t know if you really belong here I
mean there were times when I would look
at some of the assignments or things
that I had to do and not knowing what
the end point would be started becoming
really really disheartening not only
that I so wasn’t really seeing people
that looked like me I represented my
lived experience so it was still hard
for me to feel like yeah you deserve to
be here
after a while though with some support
and encouragement from my family and
primarily support an encouragement from
amazing
profs who gave me amazing research
opportunities I started to realize you
know what I do deserve to be here I
think for me the main change in my life
and one of the most pivotal moments was
a conversation that I had with one of my
best friend Sarah de Silva we’re sitting
chilling in the cafeteria talking and
she looks at me and asks me a very
important question she said Oh Eugenia
would you offer to your PhD to be honest
I was like girl
hell no I am NOT trying to be in school
longer than I already have I’m not
trying to go through all of the things
that you have to go through in order to
obtain it I’m just trying to live my
life so this was cute gonna get my
undergrad but I’m I think I’m done after
this there’s something that Sarah looks
back at me and said that we’ll always
stick with me she’s like well I think
you can do it so you should and to be
honest that with a lot of other events
was one of the really big moments that I
decided you know what I am gonna
continue and do my PhD while doing my
PhD I was able to meet incredible people
I had the opportunity to work in a lab
that was actually at the forefront of
research we were dealing with cancer
therapeutics developing disease
diagnostics and this was with a group of
people that I can honestly say are
hilarious amazing dope didn’t fit into
any of the stereotypes that I had placed
or labels that I had placed on them
prior and I can’t help but think that I
wouldn’t have met them if I didn’t take
this step what was awesome is that
together all of us were kind of being
able to figure out the solutions to very
critical problems and actually
contribute to meaningful research in the
field it was an amazing experience
but anyone who worked with me in lab
would tell you that I always had one
foot in lab one foot
back in the community I told you
community was at the core of what I who
I was and what I wanted to do so in that
my two passions there was always kind of
this tension between them near the end
of my PhD I started getting super
confused because I was like okay what am
I gonna do after because I’m passionate
about so many things and you know I’m a
scientist so I guess I got got to do
sciency stuff for the rest of my life
again I was putting scientists in a box
I was relegating what I was doing in
science to only being able to do one
thing and I couldn’t really see my
passion for community and science
intersecting but as I began to reflect
on what had actually brought me to this
point to be able to work in this lab and
to be part of this groundbreaking
research I realized that it was those
tipping point opportunities that took me
from sisse mere interest to actually a
tangible reality in my life for my
future so with that I started to realize
that you know what there’s a way that
you can bring community and science
together and that could actually be a
combination of my passions today as you
know I have the privilege and honour of
being able to run an organization that
works with youth from confirm
communities similar to mine to get them
engaged and motivated in science
technology engineering and math and
encourage them to overcome some of the
crippling impostor syndrome that comes
with being underrepresented in a field
for me when I think of the unlikely
scientist if I could ever go back if I
could speak to an unlikely scientists if
there are some unlikely scientists in
this room I would give them a couple of
these pro tips
pro tip number one you ready cease and
seek opportunity for me there are a lot
of opportunities that were afforded to
me it was up to me to actually go
through them and give it a try I can
tell you right now not all of those
opportunities involved a PhD
or learning about chemistry but
everything I didn’t like I actually was
able to make an informed decision as to
why I didn’t like it because I tried it
and I realized I didn’t and sometimes
that’s better than not knowing what you
don’t know my second protein understand
that there are barriers but you can
overcome them I don’t think a lot of
people appreciate that for some people
in this room there are more barriers and
other – than others – engaging in
science these barriers could be in race
socioeconomic status gender whatever the
light and whatever spectrum of privilege
you fall on you might need to be an
advocate or an ally for underrepresented
groups you might be part of an
underrepresented group and you need to
actually realize that you deserve to be
in the spaces that you inhabit and
overcome the barriers are presented in
front of you my third pro tip commit to
the cause let me tell you something
doing a PhD in chemistry is hard was the
hard R it is very hard and there was
nothing easy about it for every success
it was met with failure as well whether
it be thinking that I was a failure or
failure with one of my experiments I had
to learn how to finesse failure I had to
learn how to cope with failure and I had
to learn how to overcome it and come out
like well I’m still gonna get my PhD
Dozo
and in sometimes you need to let
yourself know that in the midst of you
struggling and studying and doing what
you have to do there is still a cause
and a goal that you are going towards
there will be failure there will be
success commit to it until you’re done
my last tip for you I’m probably the
most important is be your self I told
you guys that I didn’t feel like I
belonged in science because nothing none
of the narratives around who a scientist
could be fit in with who I was when I
became a scientist and when I got into
science I realized that science needed
me science needed my swag science me and
my passion science needed my ratchet
copying science needed everything that I
am and you know what at the end of the
day what you bring to the table will
change the field that you’re in and no
one can bring it except for you so at
the end of the day forget those false
perceptions of what a scientist needs to
be the scientist needs to be you whoever
you are
that’s a new scientist that’s in the
field you’re on the same next at the end
of the day if I could look back and see
that little girl in that community room
in Scarborough I didn’t respond well to
her because I didn’t have time to and I
was also kind of embarrassed but if I
could look back to her and talk to her
I’d say you know what this is my story
this is what I struggled with I
understand why you don’t believe me but
I’m here to tell you that if you want to
do this this is something that interests
you don’t let anyone hold you back and
do it and you can do it you a girl from
a low-income community you a black girl
with your plots can actually migrate and
navigate through the system with support
and become a scientist if that is
something that you wanted to do I’ll
leave you with one of my favorite quotes
by a lady by the name of Erica Hairston
who’s a black woman in tech she says
numerous societal problems are waiting
to be solved
and I realize more and more that we need
untapped and underestimated minds to be
part of the solutions thank you
[Applause]
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