Yemaya Bordain and Mark Shannon.When Yemaya Bordain (PhD ’15) graduated in the spring, she not only received her degree, she also broke a longstanding barrier.
Bordain became ECE ILLINOIS’ first female African-American PhD graduate.
“It struck a chord with me that ECE ILLINOIS would not graduate its first female African-American PhD until 2015,” Bordain said.
Written by Daniel Dexter
Yemaya Bordain and Mark Shannon.
When Yemaya Bordain (PhD ’15) graduated in the spring, she not only received her degree, she also broke a longstanding barrier.
Bordain became ECE ILLINOIS’ first female African-American PhD graduate.
“It struck a chord with me that ECE ILLINOIS would not graduate its first female African-American PhD until 2015,” Bordain said. “Acknowledging this reality, however, inspired me to not only tap as many resources as possible to succeed, but also to bring my experiences, triumphs, and concerns to the department and the College of Engineering in order to facilitate a more supportive and welcoming environment for those who would be following in my footsteps.”
Even before coming to Illinois, she felt the support of the community when the late Mechanical Science and Engineering Professor Mark Shannon (1955-2012) recruited her with the intention of helping her from both an educational and financial standpoint.
“Professor Shannon did everything in his power to ensure that I was financially supported for graduate school,” Bordain said. “He reviewed my fellowship applications, provided critical feedback, and even offered to provide funding for my PhD studies if I did not win any of the external funding for which I applied. Fortunately, I won all of them.”