Transfer Story - Derek J. Russell

 

What's Your Chabot Story?

When I came to Chabot Community College in 2014, I joined the Striving Black Brothers Coalition (SBBC). The program was focused on how to address the most persistent obstacles to college achievement amongst the African men who are students at Chabot College. This is the demographic group that experiences the greatest challenges in maintaining academic achievement at the college. During my time in the program, I was the only student in the group that was majoring in STEM. As a result, it was hard to find someone within the group who shared the same interest and passion that I have. Since the group was more focused on uplifting black men to overcome obstacles, it wasn’t helping or preparing me to do well in rigorous courses on a technical level. This put me in the position where I had to seek out assistance as far as getting the support that I need to be successful. Nonetheless, with all the hurdles that I had to overcome, it led me down a path of struggling for the 2 years at Chabot College.

Being an underrepresented African American student that’s majoring in STEM, I went through turbulent times as a result of structural inequalities; I faced a lack of support from certain faculty and colleagues to weather the storm. There have been times and moments in my life that I was almost close to considering leaving my program or switching my major that’s non-STEM related due to the negativity that I had to face within my field from peers, friends, family, and loved ones. Often, I have received discouraging messages from certain advisers that have ranged from passive-aggressive to explicit challenges regarding my ability to perform at a high level in STEM coursework. The ripple effect of these actions can have a generational impact. Despite the conceding feedback and the trials and tribulations I had to face from other people, the MESA Program has had my back since day 1 and has been supported me through thick and thin. To be completely honest, taking STEM classes with mostly Asian, White, and Indian classmates was very intimidating at first. It made me feel unwelcome in the STEM academic environment. I felt out of place in this field because I didn’t see many people who looked like me. For instance, when I was taking precalculus in the summer of 2016, I remember walking into the classroom and not seeing too many Black students who look like me. When I would participate in a class or ask questions, it felt as though my professor was looking at me as if I wasn’t smart enough or that I didn’t belong in the classroom. Being one the only black person in my math class made me question whether I lacked intelligence when it came to academics, particularly mathematics. I have been in certain situations where my professor made derogatory comments towards me for being a Black man. There have been numerous moments in my academic career where people have shown negative attitudes towards my ability to succeed in mathematics. There have been times where I failed my classes catastrophically. For underrepresented minorities like me, imposter syndrome can complicate an already challenging academic field and career path in which you already face isolation and the pressure of representing an entire race and gender.

How did Chabot influence your life and career? 

During my childhood, I was diagnosed with a learning disability by medical doctors and the San Francisco school district because of social differences. They each concluded that I had developmental delays, which placed me into Special ED that alienated me from my classmates from elementary through high school. During elementary school, I was performing extremely poorly and scored far below average on the STARS test that was only given once a year, my teachers became very concerned. I had very low self-esteem fearing that I wasn’t capable of being proficient in mathematics, reading, and writing like the rest of the students who weren’t in the situation that I was in. Although my childhood was difficult, I was fortunate enough to have a father who was always there for me telling me, “Don’t be a quitter.” After high school, I went to a local four-year college but being an underrepresented low-income, African American student majoring in Engineering, I went through turbulent times as a result of structural inequalities. I faced a lack of support from certain faculty and colleagues. I even received disheartening messages from certain advisers ranging from passive-aggressive to explicit challenges regarding my ability to perform at a high level in STEM coursework. I almost considered switching my major to non-STEM due to all the negativity that I had to face from instructors and peers. Instead, I transferred to a local community college. There I discovered the MESA program. The MESA program supported me with affirmations, awards in good times, constructive criticism, and tangible provisions in hard times.

Amid all of this, I faced the biggest challenge of my life just as I was about to embark on college -- I lost my father on May 14th, 2015. I never began a semester enrolled in less than four units, but I dropped from eight units to three at the beginning of Fall 2015 because I was grieving the loss of my father. When I got the news, I felt the world stand still as I sank into a bad dream, with my body burning to the point of tears that looked like pools resting on my tear ducts. I had been told it was going to happen, but I was not prepared for the sadness in my mind and emptiness in my heart. I toggled between pouring out my soul to my family and punching holes into the plastered wall until it was as broken as I was. The memorial service happened five days later, and I was supposed to say goodbye, but I couldn’t. Despite losing my father, I believe that for every loss, there is a major gain. In life, I learned that opportunities aren’t made for you to glance at for a second and then move on, but more so to help you gain exposure and experience in the field. By being ambitious and strong-minded, it led me to my first internship with NASA Ames Research Center in the summer of 2016. In that year, I made a variety of multidisciplinary connections across STEM fields, such as computer programming, physics, and technology manipulations, specifically the use of microcontrollers, embedded systems, and the rapid prototyping and fabrication of parts to develop innovative solutions. I overcame all of the obstacles I’ve faced in life -- and despite it all, I delivered a strong performance in my first internship at NASA. This led to a second NASA internship, and ultimately having an article written about me that’s published on their website. At that time, I worked on building a server for the Education Department and learned the fundamental basics of building a server from a hardware and software point of view. Furthermore, I’ve created unique opportunities for underrepresented students to enhance higher education and strengthen public understanding by enabling powerful connections to NASA’s mission and work. Through these experiences, an important lesson that I’ve learned along the way is to never give up: always persevere. As for every success, there are tons of disappointments because failure is simply a price we pay to succeed in life.

Another thing that I want to share is my love for travel; it is my reset button; it is the activity that I look forward to most after I have faced challenges. On a regular day-to-day basis, I enjoy listening to music. When I feel depressed, listening to blues comforts me like a friend right there, relating to me, encouraging me to see problems through, envisioning an end where I am in a space of peace, beauty, and discovery. When I realize the outcome of an obstacle, whether good or bad, I take a vacation, to transform any positive imaginings into realities, or at least get close. I take insights with all my senses and learn about different cultures through my interactions with anyone willing to interact. After a few days with new scenery, I can feel myself thinking more clearly. I get happy, listen to my collection of party songs, and dance for hours to amplify the good feeling. Then I appreciate being at home. As I settle into my comfy, cozy, little couch, where I know every place that squeaks and sags, reflecting on my travels while listening to new music that I added to my collection, I feel ready to confront any problem. At the end of the 2018 school year, after a short vacation to Toronto, feeling renewed, I began an internship at UC Irvine’s Autonomous Systems Engineering Academy. The program began with an in-depth exploration of the concurrent engineering involved in creating a Smart Doorbell. Additionally, my assigned teammate for the program, and I created a quadcopter during that Summer that we called “The Black Panther Autonomous Drone.” It received first place at the program’s concluding symposium! Plus, I gained valuable exposure to the fundamentals of aerospace design, computer-aided design, 3D printing, and electronic fabrication techniques. I am certain challenges will arise when I transfer; I am a strong candidate because, not only do I collaborate well with diverse groups to overcome academic and societal challenges, but I am also skilled in dealing with personal challenges to focus and persevere to impact those challenges that are bigger than me. One of my strengths is my persistent motivation to finish the work that is within my power to do.

I have prepared for Engineering and Mathematics at Chabot College by mastering concepts in my lower-division courses; honing skills through research, internships, and community service projects; developing relationships with mentors in the industries; engaging in academic clubs. Through my education at the community college level, I have had the opportunity to engage in robust courses. In my engineering classes, I learned problem-solving; in my history classes, I learned ethics; in my physical education classes, I learned holistic wellness. I have been able to apply the knowledge and skillsets I gained towards creativity that I believe will better the world. At my community college, Chabot, I have taken an active role in building retention and outreach programs targeting students from underrepresented groups. I worked closely with the (MESA) Program Director to organize a summer bridge program and obtain grants focused on recruiting more underrepresented students into STEM. I’m also an active volunteer with the Hidden Genius Project (HGP), which was founded in 2012 by five black male entrepreneurs/technologists who were unnerved by the dramatic juxtaposition between the high unemployment of black male youth and the plethora of career opportunities within the technology sector. During HGP’s 6th Annual Brothers Code event, I took a leadership role in introducing youth and adults to Computer Science and Technology and assisted various ways on how they can leverage technology to strengthen their urban communities. With that being said, I appreciate everything that Chabot College has done for me and everyone who has helped me towards the next adventurous journey and chapter in my life. Thank you!

 

Why should anyone transfer?

Anyone should be willing to challenge themselves to embark on a new challenge towards an adventurous journey in life. The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way. Anything worthwhile takes a long time and it takes a lot of emotional trauma. People are going to tell you that you’re an idiot or wrong or whatever. And if you’re not willing to sign up for that, you're not going to succeed.

 

Shout Outs and/or Words of Wisdom?

In this life, sometimes I feel like the things I’ve seen, the things I’ve gone through to get where I’m at makes me feel like I’m not going to be successful. All my life, I’ve been striving for something to make others happy and proud that’s close to me as my family and friends. Yet, sometimes you don’t get the results that you are looking for when you try to make others happy. And that’s something in life that has taught me a lesson. Because everyone who’s has a journey has a different type of journey of how they got to where they are today. And I have to understand that you can’t compare yourself to others who started off differently than where you have to start off. And me, myself, have to recognize that. Sometimes, I wish I wasn’t diagnosed with a learning disability. Sometimes I wish I was the smartest person in the room. Sometimes I wish I knew it all or scored straight A’s or perfect scores on my test. But I’m not. I’m just not. I’ve always had to start from the bottom my whole entire life. Yet, in biblical terms, the Bible does that God put his strongest soldiers through the toughest battles. And to be honest, I really don’t know what God has in store for me. I really don’t know. And I wish I could know what was in store for me. But at times, I am really frustrated because I want to be successful so bad. I want my mom to look at me not as less of a person and for what I am. But more so of what I’m trying to become and the impact, I’m going to have on the world. Yet, the hardest thing about life is believing in yourself when others don’t. Ever since Kobe Bryant passed away, it gave me something to think about on a deeper, authentic, and conceptual level than I have ever thought about in my entire life. Around 2003-2004, Bryant was at a low point in his career and personal life, so he decided to do something unusual: he created an alter-ego. Thus, “The Black Mamba” was born. In the documentary, Bryant states: “I went from a person who was at the top of his game, had everything coming, to a year later, having absolutely no idea where life is going or if you are even going to be a part of life as we all know it.” Bryant also tells it this way: ‘I had to separate myself. It felt like there were so many things coming at once. It was just becoming very, very confusing. I had to organize things. So I created “The Black Mamba.”’ Mamba mentality means “just trying to get better every day.” It’s the “simplest form of just trying to get better at whatever you’re doing.” And that’s some of the principles that I live and standby throughout my entire life. Always striving to be the best you can be even when the odds are stacked against you at your greatest detriment. What that being said, the things that I promise to myself and set out to do in life is to keep pushing myself towards greatness and work towards getting better every day. I personally feel like happiness comes from within and not what society thinks happiness should be. I believe that working towards happiness can lead to having a peaceful state of mind.

 

May 2020