We were lucky to catch up with Carlotta Berry recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Carlotta thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Is there a lesson you learned in school that’s stuck with you and has meaningfully impacted your journey?
One of the most important lessons I learned when I was in undergraduate college around 20 years old that a failure was not always a bad thing. Getting my first failing grade in an an engineering course taught me resilience and to continue and not give up despite how circumstances look. I made up in my mind that the first failure would not lead to a second one so I made it my mission to earn an A in that course the second time. This is a story I often share with my students that sometimes a failure builds character so don’t come to me and ask for shortcuts but rather go through the fire to come out on the other side stronger. I have used these examples often to motivate myself, my students and my child when they encounter something that is difficult or appears impossible. Think about the last time you encountered something like this and how you felt when you are finally able to overcome it.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
During the 2020 pandemic, I was on sabbatical from my full time job and was contacted frequently to give presentations, workshops and serve on panels related to be a Black Woman in STEM. In particular, a robotics professor to speak on diversify, artificial intelligence, bias in robotics and AI, STEM, etc. So I became an education consultant to provide this valuable resource in a more formal capacity. I provide presentations on these topics, I also write Black STEM Romance novels and give workshops on electronics and robotics for adults and children. I am most proud of the fact that based upon popular demand I designed a robot kit for novice, intermediate, and expert robot enthusiasts tha that can now be purchased on my website. My mission statement of “my stem is for the streets’ is able to be achieved by provided resources most appropriate to various members of the community to meet them where they are. This works seeks to normalize seeing and hearing from diverse voices in STEM. This is the very definition of a NoireSTEMinist.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
I am very active on social media and I get most of my speaking engagements, customers for my books and robots and workshop request from LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
My very active social media engagement under my brand NoireSTEMinist® has helped me build my reputation more than anything else I’ve done. My videos on engineering education, robotics, Black STEM Romance and NoireSTEMinist vignettes as well as engineering and math quizzes. I also have been endorsed by organizations that have heard me speak and had my work shared in several magazines, television shows as well as being profiled and receiving awards for my service, outreach and engineering education work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.noiresteminist.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noiresteminist/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarlottaArdell/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlotta-berry-phd/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/noiresteminist
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/carlottaberry
- Other: https://www.carlottaardell.com/
Image Credits
Haley Rose Photography Bryan Cantwell/Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology