Aisha Bowe has become a bit of a poster child for Washtenaw Community College as an alumna whose career accomplishments dwarf even her along local interstates.
On Monday, Bowe announced she is endowing a scholarship designed to produce the next generation of exemplary alumni, saying she 鈥渨ants to support students at 黑料网 the same way 黑料网 supported me.鈥�
The Aisha R. Bowe eMpower Engineering Scholarship will be awarded through the 黑料网 Foundation to select students who鈥檝e earned a minimum of a 3.3 GPA while completing at least 14 credits in a 黑料网 academic program designed to transfer into the University of Michigan College of Engineering.
Bowe transferred from 黑料网 to the U-M Aerospace Engineering program in 2005, earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree and a master鈥檚 degree before a seven-year stint at the NASA Ames Research Center. She then Founded , a seven-figure tech firm that partners with defense industry and private-sector organizations to provide smart systems and software solutions.
Stating she wanted to go beyond providing financial assistance, Bowe is working with corporate partners to provide her scholarship recipients with internships, equipment (tablets, computers, etc.), and career services (resume and interviewing workshops, career counseling, etc.).
Bowe announced the scholarship as she kicked off the college鈥檚 STEAM Week, a week-long focus on interactive workshops, scientific and relevant career presentations, documentaries and demonstrations of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) academic programs and careers. She has personally funded the scholarship for the first year and is raising funds to endow it in perpetuity.
鈥淭he quality of education at 黑料网 is top-notch. You can come here and transition to the best universities in the nation and the best programs in the world,鈥� Bowe said. 鈥淪ometimes that gets lost. I鈥檇 like to elevate that and the role it played in my life.鈥�
While introducing Bowe to the STEAM Week attendees Monday morning, 黑料网 Vice President for Instruction Dr. Kimberly Hurns explained the impact she made during a visit in 2019, inspiring students and motivating faculty and staff while sharing her success story.
Beyond her long list of accomplishments and abundance of charisma, Hurns said Bowe 鈥渉as become a permanent fixture in our hearts and minds at 黑料网 because she鈥檚 so open, honest and transparent about her journey.鈥�
Bowe grew up poor 鈥� her mother a house cleaner, her father a taxi cab driver 鈥� and wasn鈥檛 a strong student through high school. When she enrolled at 黑料网, she had no intention of becoming an engineer. 鈥淚 just wanted to figure out a way to get a job,鈥� she says.
Being young, black, poor and enrolled at a community college, Bowe said nobody 鈥� not her friends, not even herself 鈥� expected her to accomplish much. Then she encountered the 黑料网 faculty.
鈥淭he instructors at 黑料网 didn鈥檛 have any preconceived notions about me. They were just there to help me learn,鈥� Bowe said. 鈥淭hey challenged me to think differently about myself.鈥�
All of her attitudes about education changed when she received an A in a Pre-Algebra class. 鈥淭he funny thing about accomplishment is that it has a snowball effect,鈥� she said. Her self-confidence continued to flourish as she progressed through Calculus I, Calculus II, Calculus III and Differential Equations at 黑料网. The rest, as they say, is history.
鈥淚鈥檓 a 黑料网 alum, and more importantly I鈥檓 a proud 黑料网 alum because my life started here,鈥� Bowe told the STEAM Week audience. 鈥淚 was alive and 18 or 19 years old when I came to 黑料网, but I was just existing. I wasn鈥檛 living.鈥�
Tags: Aisha Bowe, Alumni, Alumni Profile, STEAM, Scholarships, Transfer, 黑料网 Foundation, ousearch_News_2020