Pronouns: He/Him/His
Year/Position: PhD Student

Why did you decide to join the ME DEI Committee?
I joined the ME DEI committee because I am committed to make sure that students from all backgrounds in the ME department feel welcome and have equal opportunities to succeed. The DEI committee has provided me opportunities to learn from and engage with the students in our department and to perform continuous supportive ally work to improve our students' well-being and their sense of belonging. As a part of the committee, I hope to develop, plan, and coordinate new department-level DEI initiatives aimed at boosting our students' sense of belonging and promoting diversity in our department.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Year/Position: PhD Student

Why did you decide to join the ME DEI Committee?
I want to improve DEI efforts on the department level and be a connection between the students and the department on work in inclusion and equity. I want to assist in gaining input from students on DEI departmental efforts and ensure their voices are being heard about their needs at all levels. I think transparency and access to the committee through the newsletter and other ways we develop are key to doing this.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Year/Position: Senior

Why did you decide to join the ME DEI Committee?
I decided to join this committee because I wanted to do my part to improve the culture of UMich engineering. Engineering culture as a whole can be much more inclusive. I know that change will only happen if people who care put the hard work in. I am striving to be the change I want to see. I hope to implement programs so that every student in ME feels that their whole identity is acknowledged and valued. I would like to increase the committees presence in undergraduate engineering so that all ME students know that they have a safe space to turn to.

Pronouns: He/Him/His
Year/Position: PhD Student

Why did you decide to join the ME DEI Committee?
I wanted to be a part of shaping the progress that the Mechanical Engineering department will be making in the next few years to make what we do more inclusive. I'm particularly sensitive to the Black and Native American communities and want to work with the department to create spaces, resources and actions we can take to include these communities.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Year/Position: PhD Student

Why did you decide to join the ME DEI Committee?
One of the primary reasons was the #BlackInTheIvory tweets on Twitter. I used to live in my bubble, thinking that academia was free from racial injustice. However, I was shocked and saddened as I scrolled through the tweets. This made me realize that racism can be subtle, and it is easier to pretend that we did not notice. Nonetheless, to solve an issue, we first need to acknowledge it. We have taken that very first step, and as we keep moving forward, we need all hands on deck.

Pronouns: He/Him/His
Year/Position: PhD Student

Why did you decide to join the ME DEI Committee?
I joined the ME DEI committee because I feel that it's important to be conscious of DEI issues, especially now. As engineers, we don't get enough exposure to these types of conversations. I hope that in contributing to the ME DEI committee, I can learn more and help foster growth in the engineering community.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Year/Position: PhD Student

Why did you decide to join the ME DEI Committee?
I was very struck by the black lives matter movement in the summer of 2020. As an Asian woman in STEM, I've seen discrimination and stereotype all through my career. I joined ME DEI Committee to learn, contribute and be an ally.

Pronouns: He/Him/His
Year/Position: Masters Student

Why did you decide to join the ME DEI Committee?
I want to promote DEI values and become involved with the ME community. It is important to have every single individual (student, faculty, or staff) to learn, teach, and perform at the highest level of comfortability, without the sentiments of bias or judgement. In addition, I hope to be a factor in developing a structured concern reporting system, to ensure everyone has a go-to method for addressing their concerns.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Year/Position: PhD Student

Why did you decide to join the ME DEI Committee?
Since the first day of my PhD, I have embraced being a female pursuing graduate studies in Mechanical Engineering. More than that, I have encountered a sense of belonging to more than one community as the first generation, Hispanic female with disabilities leaving my family and country of origin to accomplish one of my dreams. I came here to serve and not to be served. I want to be an inspiration others and demonstrate than who we are is not defined by how we look.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Year/Position: Junior

Why did you decide to join the ME DEI Committee?
I wanted to be involved with making the ME community more welcoming and inclusive. I hope to make members of marginalized groups in engineering feel more comfortable at U of M.

Pronouns: He/Him/His
Year/Position: PhD Student

Why did you decide to join the ME DEI Committee?
To help build a better ME community. As a part of the committee this year, I want to extend the reach of ME DEI to a larger portion of the community.