CARIBBEAT: Manhattan College student’s future has all the elements of a chemical engineering success story
Dominique Whyte fondly recalled that an electrical and electronic technology teacher in her Mandeville, Jamaica, high school gave her a supportive push towards the study of chemical engineering.
Today, as a chemical engineering major, Whyte will be a valued rarity when she graduates from Manhattan College in 2025. Powered by the encouraging atmosphere at the college, and the lasting support from high school, she is well on her way to making her mark in the traditionally male-dominated field.
“At Manhattan College there isn’t any bias based on gender,” the Jamaica-born college sophomore told David Koeppel in the Manhattan College article, “Chemical Engineering Student Wants to Break Negative Stem Stereotypes. “So, the same opportunities that are available to men are also available to women. It’s an equal playing field at the school.”
With an interest in sustainable energy and development, Whyte is researching ways to remove sulfur from fuel, supported by a $55,000 grant from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund. The research is important because elevated sulfur levels in fuels can adversely affect the world’s environment, including her Jamaica homeland.
This summer, before the start of her junior year, she’ll be interning with Air Products chemical company. Whyte learned of the internship opportunity by attending a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) industry career fair at the college last fall.
A ‘REALLY SPECIAL’ ACTIVIST
“Frontline warrior” and “somebody that was really special” were among the ways family, friends, and admirers remembered the late anti-racism activist Ruth “Carol Taylor” Legall at a recent memorial service at Brooklyn’s Jubilant Pentecostal Holy Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Boston-born Taylor, who died May 12 at the age of 91, had a lengthy list of achievements to her credit — among them was being the first Black flight attendant of any gender in the United States, in 1958. Before joining New York-based Mohawk Airlines, Taylor worked as a registered nurse after graduating from the Bellevue School of Nursing.
As a journalist for the British Caribbean-focused Flamingo magazine, Taylor covered the 1963 March on Washington, spending time at the event with VIPs such as actor-activists Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier. Once, she used her press credentials to get a brief meeting with President John Kennedy. But Taylor wanted to be remembered more for her relentless fight against “untreated racism” and colorism (prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone) in the U.S.
Known and respected throughout the nation, she attended “innumerable demonstrations against police brutality and injustice,” read her obituary, which also mentioned the Racial/Colorism Quotient (or RQ Test) to measure bias in individuals, businesses, and organizations. In 1982, Taylor and psychologist Mari P. Saunders established the educational not-for-profit Institute for Interracial Harmony, with the motto: “Prejudice Is Learned; It Can Be Unlearned.” Visit racismtest.com.
Another of Taylor’s lasting contributions is “The Little Black Book — Male Survival in America,” a pocket-sized publication of important does-and-don’ts, such as “When You are Approached by the Police, Do Not Take This Time to Prove Your Manhood” — that was originally conceived for her son Laurence’s safety, but became popular nationwide. The book, which also pays tribute to the late Bahamas-born community leader Arthur Miller and other victims of police and bias-related violence, can be purchased for $5 at littleblackbookblacksurvival.com.
‘SCHOOL BAGS’ ESSAY CONTEST
Contestants in the regional “School Bags” essay competition are anxiously awaiting the results of the contest, presented by the Eric Williams Memorial Collection Research Library, Archives and Museum at the University of the West Indies — Trinidad and Tobago.
Lower and upper sixth form (CAPE or equivalent) students from 17 Caribbean nations and territories competed using this year’s essay topic: “Is social media a help or a hindrance, and what impact does it have on civil society or politics in the 21st century?”
An international panel of judges will select the top prize winners, who will be made public on Sept. 15.
