“Black people get PhDs?” I remember thinking this to myself as the guest speaker was introduced for our National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) chapter meeting. Sure, I was a student at Vanderbilt University and a declared Computer Science major. However, I was shocked. I really had no idea black people got PhDs. I know this sounds crazy. But literally, I had never known or heard of anyone having a PhD in my circles. Most were content to finish a bachelor’s degree, if anything at all. For me, a PhD