Miriki honored as outstanding young alumna

Brittany A. J. Miriki (BSME ’16) is a mechanical engineer with a vision to bring the voices of women of color in STEM to the forefront. Now working as a systems engineer (solution architect) at Dell, she returned to campus in April to receive an Outstanding Young Alumni honor from MechSE.

“I appreciate that the Alumni Board can see that things that we've done, the steps we've taken,” Miriki said. “Even though we are young, we continue to show that we are notable in the work that we've done.”

While at UIUC, Miriki founded Sistas in STEM, recognizing the need to unite women of color in STEM on campus. As the first president, she led the group to host multiple events and discussions. After graduating and beginning her career as an engineering consultant, she began to notice even more disparities for women in the workforce. She soon realized that more people could benefit from Sistas in STEM than just those at her alma mater, so she chose to expand upon the groundwork she had already laid.

In 2018, SistasinSTEM.org was officially launched. By sharing stories, advice, and resources from women of color in STEM all over the nation, this online community has been able motivate and uplift people everywhere. What once started as a blog continues to grow into a multimedia platform focused on women empowerment. Miriki has taken on every leadership role in the business to expand its reach and ensure its growth. From writing articles, to recording videos, to planning events, and much more - she takes each task by the reins all while balancing her full-time job. Her goals are to create a new era of STEM role models for young girls of color to look up to and to create new innovative ways for our community to connect.

“It's a thing called impostor syndrome that a lot of people my age tend to suffer from,” Miriki said. “I've talked about it on my podcasts with my guests, who are women. So this (Young Alumni Award) gives me a chance to say, ‘Yes, okay, I see what I've done. I see how this can benefit me more as I continue to push forward, because if they're rewarding me now just wait until they see what I do next. Because there's so much more.’”

At UIUC, Miriki was involved in National Society of Black Engineers as Public relations chairperson and senator; MASC (MechSE Advancement Student Committee) as a student senior representative; and the Morrill Engineering Program. She was also a Knights of St. Patrick nominee.