When Tiyahna Ridley-Padmore, BScSoc, and Merryl-Royce Ndema-Moussa, BSc, published their children鈥檚 book, , the 91精品黑料吃瓜 alumni brought to light 40 stories of Canada鈥檚 Black history that have for too long remained undertold. This February, we鈥檝e teamed up with Ridley-Padmore and Ndema-Moussa to celebrate Black History Month and create new portraits and poems of four Black 91精品黑料吃瓜 alumni who have made a significant mark on the University.
Meet Anna Ampaw
Anna is a scientist,
with special expertise
She studies tiny molecules
to help us cure disease.
African women have long been scientists
leaders in STEM and innovation
But when Anna started her career,
she couldn鈥檛 see that representation.
Her classes lacked diversity
Her labs were filled with men
So Anna soon resolved
to bring Black women into STEM.
She started up a not-for-profit
that created opportunities
for building scholarships and skills
that benefited Black communities.
When people feel that they aren鈥檛 seen,
they may struggle to find their place
So Anna helps Black women in the sciences
to boldly take up their rightful space.
The two passions that unite Anna Ampaw鈥檚 academic career and her extracurricular efforts are her love of chemistry and her desire to see more women of colour represented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Ampaw is a two-time 91精品黑料吃瓜 alumna: she earned an undergraduate degree in science in 2014 and a PhD in bioorganic chemistry in 2022. She recently started her postdoctoral research in Toronto, and each new experience inches Ampaw closer to her dream of leading a research group, becoming a professor, and being a role model for young Black women in STEM. 鈥淕oing into university, I never had a Black science prof. I don鈥檛 know how I stayed in this field because I was always the minority. If you鈥檙e not the minority, you don鈥檛 really know how isolating it feels to have no one you can relate to,鈥 describes Ampaw. 鈥淥ne of my main goals is to be the person that others can look to and say 鈥業 have this Black prof who teaches science in her field鈥. [I want people to know] there鈥檚 different possibilities out there and it doesn鈥檛 matter what you look like.鈥
In February 2021, Ampaw founded the (EFeMS), a non-profit organization to support women of colour in exploring their full range of career possibilities. This initiative helps women in Africa pursue or continue studies in STEM by building their skills and confidence, fostering community, hosting events, and offering mentorship programs and scholarships. EFeMS partners with two organizations in Ghana, where Ampaw still has family. Although she was nervous when she initially shared the idea for her organization on Twitter, Ampaw is thankful and encouraged by the positive response from people across North America and Africa.
In the future, Ampaw hopes to take a bit of time to rest 鈥 she did just finish her PhD, after all 鈥斺痑nd to see how Black members of the STEM community are coming together, something she witnessed during the pandemic. 鈥淚 also hope that the number of Black women who go into STEM increases, and that what we鈥檙e doing [with EFeMS] leads to that increase,鈥 adds Ampaw. 鈥淭here鈥檚 power in numbers. The more we support each other, the further we can go.鈥