Studying engineering on the Truro campus combined Jennifer Ladipo’s (BEng’16) love of math and science with the opportunity to be closer to her older brother.

“I was there with my brother, and it was one of the few times we were in school together,” said Ladipo. “I really enjoyed the campus and town. I didn’t realize how cool it was to have such small classes,” she recalls.

While studying in Truro, Ladipo also found confidence in her creativity and writing ability. Combining her love of math and science and her ability to think and act creatively, Ladipo created TheSTEMGirl website. STEM encompasses science, technology, engineering, and math and TheSTEMGirl site aims to encourage young girls to view themselves as both feminine and scientific by telling representative stories. In addition to writing most of the content, Ladipo also runs the day-to-day operations of the site.

“I don’t think I could say I’m doing traditional engineering but, in the content creation, I use a lot of my engineering background in a non-traditional way,” she elaborates.

Finding her gift

Ladipo’s online storytelling has since led to five published books aimed at representing young women in STEM. Her first book, The Red Elephant started as an assignment on inspiring diversity in future engineers in a required writing course on the Truro Campus. Ladipo not only enjoyed the required writing course but was inspired to write.

“I wasn’t confident in my writing; you don’t know many Black authors,” she explains. “To be honest, I didn’t know any off the top of my head. I didn’t know if I could write. And then Professor Stiles told me, ‘You have a gift for dialogue.’ And I heard that, and thought, if this professional lady thinks that, I trust her. I come back to that advice a lot. If I am not confident in my writing or I’m freaking out, I think of her,” says Ladipo.

Helping youth see themselves in STEM

Ladipo continued her work in engineering outreach during her industrial engineering studies on Dalhousie’s Sexton Campus, volunteering her time with Imhotep’s Legacy Academy, an organization that works to introduce youth of African Nova Scotian descent to the world of STEM.

Her career continues to embrace creativity and outreach, helping female and Black youth to see themselves in engineering and science careers. Ladipo is now the national program manager for Black youth and girls at Actua. She works tirelessly with 43 network members across Canada, including SuperNova at Dalhousie, creating content to bring engineering and science to life.

A signed copy of Ladipo’s book Tess Makes a Mess is on display in the Banting Building on the Truro Campus. Her continuing efforts to motivate a generation of young women and Black youth will no doubt help to build the next generation of engineers.

Read more from the spring 2023 issue of the Faculty of Engineering magazine.