Interview w/ Kavita Krishnaswamy, @UMBC Computer Scientist, Ambassador for Disability & STEM

Watch Kavita Krishnaswamy: Peer Mentor for graduate studentsm computer scientist, inspiration!

Renetta Garrison Tull - Living Life Online

It is my pleasure to be one of the many mentors for Kavita Krishnaswamy, a graduate student in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at UMBC. Kavita’s doctoral advisor is Dr. Tim Oates. (Other stories about Kavita can be found on the CSEE website, here: http://www.csee.umbc.edu/?s=kavita). Kavita has participated in many programs that have been sponsored by the National Science Foundation, including NSF GRFP, ACCESS STEM, LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate, CMU/Pitt Quality of Life Technology Center – Engineering Research Center, and the PROMISE AGEP.

I’ve been working with Kavita for several years, through classes, her proposal, her internship, etc. Kavita is a joy. In a post a few years ago, I wrote, about how Kavita doesn’t let Spinal Muscular Atrophy stop her. She says, “I can, I will.” https://renettatull.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/grad-student-with-spinal-muscular-atrophy-excels-kavitas-story/. In Kavita’s world, she doesn’t accept, “I can’t.” Kavita talks about Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and…

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Published by Renetta Garrison Tull

Dr. Renetta Garrison Tull is the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at the University of California Davis. She previously served as Associate Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives at The Graduate School at UMBC, and was Professor of the Practice in the College of Engineering & IT. She was Special Assistant to the Sr. Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs & Director of Graduate and Professional Pipeline Development for the University System of Maryland (12 institutions). She is the Founding Director of PROMISE: Maryland’s Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) – http://www.umbc.edu/promise, and Co-PI for the USM LSAMP. Her research on global diversity in STEM continues, and she is an international speaker, covering nearly all continents, for groups and conferences such as the World Engineering Education Forum, the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies, and the Pacific Sciences Congress. Her personal website is: http://renettatull.wordpress.com. Connect with her on Twitter: @Renetta_Tull; https://twitter.com/Renetta_Tull View more posts