Zakiyah Sayyed

Zakiyah Sayyed has a degree in interdisciplinary engineering with a focus on green design. She now works with the eco girl project and the Pedagogy of Action in the Department of Afroamrican and African Studies.

Enjoy, Nesha Z. Haniff

Her Example is Helping me Shape the Future

I first met Dr. Quarraisha Abdool-Karim in 2009. I was amazed after that first meeting, and she continues to inspire and impress me every time we meet. After that first meeting, I dreamt of working with CAPRISA.  The following year we worked with the CAPRISA team who is responsible for implementing the research studies in the community. We taught the module to them and many of the team members encouraged me to come and work with them at CAPRISA. Touched by those invitations of inclusion I applied for an internship and Dr. Abdool-Karim who was very helpful in encouraging me to look for funding opportunities and although I wasn’t able to secure funding I gained a great deal from the application process. CAPRISA’s work combines many of my interests, interests that I’m often told to choose between. I don’t believe that I have to choose one passion over another. For me Dr. Abdool-Karim is a perfect example of this.

As a Black woman in the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) field I know first hand that it is rare to see women of color participating in STEM fields let alone leading them. Additionally, as scientists, we are often asked to merely consider the technical implications of issues, without holistically paying attention to the social implications of technology and science. Throughout my career at Michigan, I have been particularly passionate about approaching both science and social issues simultaneously. It is the only way to solve today’s problems. Dr. Quarraisha Abdool-Karim is an amazing example of what I have been trying to achieve in my own career as an Engineer—that is science, technology with people in mind, and for that matter women, poor women, poor women of color. She exemplifies the true role and purpose of a scientist.

This year, Dr. Abdool-Karim gave us an inside look at some of the findings of recent studies and politely described the challenges she faces in her research, after being asked by one of our team members. As she spoke of these challenges, without her saying so, it was evident that in the course of her career that she has experienced the obstacles of institutionalized racism and colonialism. Despite her accomplishments as a world-renowned scientist CAPRISA has to work harder to demonstrate their excellence in comparison to institutions in the more “developed” countries.

Despite the funding issues which did not make it possible to work with CAPRISA in 2010, I still look forward to working with CAPRISA in the future, because it is the work being done by CAPRISA that gives minorities in the STEM fields hope. It tells me that I don’t have to compartmentalize my interests and serves as a living  example any time some one tells me that this is not the case. Frankly, women don’t have the choice to compartmentalize the skills they have….

I am aware of what a great privilege it is for us to even have time with Dr. Abdool-Karim.  She does not have time to meet with us, but makes time every year because she sees us as the future and her example is helping me shape the future.

Zakiyah Sayyed
Pedagogy of Action Team Member 2012