Black History Month
Diana Kayoko Emereuwa: On the power of persistence.
Black History Month offers a chance to explore and focus on the ongoing contributions of Black Canadians in Canada. This month, PIMS celebrates this ongoing tradition by focusing on young talented scientists in STEM, how far they have come, and what they envision their future to be. Check out our other BHM feature piece here.
Diana Kayoko Emereuwa is not a quitter. Her persistence and insistence at her goals always bears fruit! She has finally landed a job with the Federal Government— one she calls “wonderful”. This new role is one she does not take lightly, as she has been on the job market for more than seven months. The pandemic may have discouraged a whole cohort of new graduates, as well as current students from achieving their career and academic goals. But Diana believes that everything happens for a reason — persistence is what she hopes will uplift those who feel brought down by the effects of the pandemic.
We caught up with Diana, an alum of the PIMS Diversity in Math Summer School, and Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her tenacity and resolve have kept her going. But she recognizes too, that her faith and spirituality have grounded her even more over the the past eleven months. Some highlights from our discussion are featured in this piece.
What led you to STEM and in particular mathematics? Do you have any favorite STEM memories and how did mathematics become central in your tertiary education?
Math was my least favorite subject. I used to fail math especially when I was in junior high school. I used to be scared of math, the numbers, the Xs, the Ys, and many other math terminologies. But not until when I got into senior high school, as there was this math teacher, very enthusiastic and active, and because of his character he was called ‘Scatter’. I do not remember a math class without laughter since the day Scatter became my math teacher. Before I knew it, I was doing excellent in math and my love and interest for math grew exponentially. That is how I developed my interest in math!
After I graduated from senior high school, I was not sure of what major to pursue in my tertiary education. And one day, while I was waiting for a train to go home after I got off from my part-time work; an elderly Japanese man came up to me and started a conversion with me. I cannot clearly recur what led us to the topic of university major. But what I can remember clearly is that he was advising me to study math in the university; he was talking about the greatness of math and how math is very useful in different areas of life. Now I come to think of it, I feel like God was speaking to me through him to tell me what to study as my major. And because I had an interest in math as well, I decided I will be pursuing a math degree at the university.
What is your favorite Math theorem?
One of my favorite math theorems is the Four-Color theorem usually known in graph theory. I find it very interesting that any map could be colored by at most four colors with the condition that no two adjacent regions have the same color.
You participated in the PIMS Diversity in Mathematics Summer School in 2019. How did this program anchor your decisions and values on STEM. Has it changed your outlook since then.
PIMS Summer School program widened my knowledge on the usefulness, as well as real-life application in industrial sectors. It may sound very normal, but it was a big thing for me because it was one of my goals for attending this program. It also made me realize how math in particular is not an option, but it’s needed in providing solutions in the medical field, as our project in the program was based on a medical topic.
As I was offered the opportunity to meet with young ladies in STEM field like me, as well as expertise in industry and academia, I learned about their challenges and difficulties and how they overcame them, which were really inspiring. This experience taught me to be strong and persevere in times of challenges, to never look down on myself nor underestimate my potentials.
You identify as Black and female in a male dominated field. In a sense you are setting the stage and foundations for many like you in Canada. What advice do you have for young black mathematicians like yourself? What kind of support do you think young researchers in your position most need?
Never look down on yourself because of your race, age, level of IQ, and whether you are a male or a female, as all those things do not count towards your success as a mathematician. I believe that for anyone to be a good mathematician, your interest, perseverance and diligence in learning, love, and/or curiosity for math is needed; otherwise, you may just be forcing yourself into it. And it is okay for you to dislike real analysis and love abstract algebra! (like me!), as there are many branches of math and each of them is unique and wonderful.
I believe that, sometimes, emotional supports are needed. Because at times, research could be overwhelming; it could affect your mental and emotional health, as well as your self-esteem. And since it is a male-dominated field, the females in the field may hardly find someone to share their burdens with (this does not imply that the men find it easy to share their burdens). As mental health should not be underestimated, building an emotional support system would be helpful. I do not know how this system should look like, it could be in a form of a fun program, counseling, conference, vacation, etc. But this is something that some normal counselors may not be able to do because they may not particularly understand the hardship of being a young male or a female researcher in mathematics. People with experience know better, therefore, I believe an emotional support system can be created particularly for math or STEM.
How do you strive and achieve work-life balance with the current social distancing regulations?
My work-life balance is usually maintained through attending online church, connecting with friends (following the province’s regulation for social bubbles) through outdoor and indoor activities such as playing cards, going out for a walk, watching movies. I believe taking the time to practice my faith, as well as spending quality time with loved ones such as friends and family, is one of the keys to achieving a healthy work-life balance.
As a mathematician, chalk talk or e-presentation?
E-presentation :)
