Via #HuffPost : Ciara Sivels, a native of Chesapeake, Virginia, is the first black woman to earn a doctoral degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan, the top program in the country. "It was something that was in the back of my mind as I was going through the program,” Sivels told HuffPost. “So yeah, it was something that I thought about, but I tried not to make it the focus because I didn’t want to add more stress to the rigor of the program.” Sivels, 27, successfully defended her thesis “Development of an Advanced Radioxenon Detector for Nuclear Explosion Monitoring” in October. Wthe lack of diverse representation in the STEM field, Sigel says there's still work to do. “My two big things are representation and exposure,” she said. “I feel like my path could have been a lot easier if I would’ve been exposed to things at a different time. I still feel like exposure is key and representation also helps, because you have people that look like you that can help pull you up when you’re failing." Sivel will work at John Hopkins but eventually wants to transition into academia. Congratulations!!! #ciarasivel #blackphd #stem #univofmichigan #nuclearengineering #blackgirlmagic #engineering https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpsi4cMAlLQ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1vpzd54m10j6w