EVENTS

South Africa July 2025

The BAMIT Board and Travel Program Committee are completing the planning for our third travel experience in Sub-Saharan Africa. After our two Ghana trips, we are headed to South Africa for a 12-day travel experience in Cape Town and Johannesburg in July of 2025.

Registration will be available in June. The first ten registrants will receive a substantial discount.

The 12-day trip will include tours of Cape Town and Johannesburg with visits to Robben Island, the Apartheid Museum, and safari game drives at Kruger National Park. The trip will contain township experiences covering traditional and modern culture and local markets and shops. We will also network with South African Alumni and meet with Black-owned and minority businesses as well as engage with students and faculty in secondary schools and universities.

An optional 3-day add-on to visit Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe will be available.

Keep a lookout for the registration announcement, so you can be one of the first to register.

For questions, contact: Holly Carter PhD '77

CELEBRATING OUR BAMIT COMMUNITY

Asegun Henry Featured Speaker at Tech Day

Asegun Henry SM ’06, PhD ’09 is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering, MIT; Director of the ASE Research Group; Founder and CTO of Fourth Power.

He is one of the featured speakers during this year’s Technology Day, providing an inside look at what’s underway—and what’s in store—from the perspective of MIT researchers focused on climate. The program includes a fireside chat with President Kornbluth and provides information about topics including the race for methane mitigation and an innovative form of renewable energy storage that’s been nicknamed a “sun in a box.” R. Robert Wickham ’93, SM ’95 President of the Alumni Association will be moderating.

Click here for more information.

Micheal G. Johnson CEO Harlem Activities Fund

Michael G. Johnson MCP ’97 as president and CEO of the Harlem Educational Activities Fund, works to ensure that other kids from underserved New York City communities get the encouragement and support they need to achieve their dreams. Click here for the full article from Slice of MIT.

Awa Koné Building Operations for Africa's Fintech

Awa Koné, MBA ’17, Global Head of Operations, Flutterwave, the African fintech platform, is building operations for a growing business ecosystem. Click here for the full article from MIT Sloan Year in Review.

SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS

Interested in helping MIT students upgrade their professional growth? Apply to be an E-MAPP Mentor! OME’s EMAP mentoring program is now accepting mentor applications for the 2024-2025 academic year.

EMAP seeks to enhance the professional and personal growth of MIT sophomores, juniors, and seniors by engaging with active professionals in a 1-year career-oriented e-mentorship.

New Mentor Requirements:

• Complete online training (15 min video)
• Commit to one-year (August-May) mentorship
• Meet at least once a month with protégé
• Submit an online application by June 7th, 2024!

https://ome-mentoring.mit.edu/intake/register

Any questions can be sent to: [email protected]

Become a UPOP Mentor

MIT’s Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program (UPOP) is a three-credit professional development course specifically for Sophomores. It focuses on career building skills necessary for students to join the workforce, including resume writing, career pathing, internship search, and networking. You can learn more about the program on the website.

UPOP has created a Mentor Network – a group of individuals, many of whom are MIT alumni, with professional experience in industry who can speak to their experience with students and guide them through the career readiness process. This is an opportunity to join the UPOP network and becoming a crucial part of MIT students’ career journeys.

As UPOP mentor, you would get to develop relationships with and foster personal and professional growth among MIT Sophomores. You would also be joining a large group of experienced industry mentors, giving you an opportunity to meet new people and do some networking yourself! UPOP offers LinkedIn badges, so you can boost your resume as well.

There are virtual opportunities, which can take as little as a couple of hours per semester, and in-person opportunities, such as speaking on a panel for an evening, or mentoring students at a major cornerstone event: Team Training Workshop (TTW). TTW is a multi-day workshop which occurs over winter break or Presidents’ Day weekend, with major objectives building on the students’ experiences over the fall semester focusing on teamwork, problem solving, and communication.

Refer to the Mentor FAQ for more information. Interested mentors can fill out a short form on the website to begin the onboarding process.

IN MEMORIAM

Claudia’s breadth of skills was evident to all who knew her. One of her many accomplishments was being a 4-time Jeopardy champion and a semifinalist in both the 1998 Tournament of Champions and Million Dollar Masters. Her last appearance on the show came in March 2014 in the Battle of the Decades. 

Claudia was an incredibly versatile MIT graduate who used her intellect as a writer, educator, and an advocate for LGBTQ rights. She will be missed. For those who are interested in making a donation, please send it in Claudia’s honor to Grace Lutheran Church at 1430 South Blvd, Evanston, IL 60202, the Center on Halsted, or Planned Parenthood.  

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

2024 Black Graduate Celebration

Class of 2024 Graduates- Photo Courtesy of Frankie Schulte ‘25

In support of the recruitment, development, and successful graduation of Black undergraduate and graduate students, BAMIT was proud to again sponsor the annual Black Graduate Celebration (BGC) on April 19, 2024. This year’s theme was Finding Courage in Community. The event was held in the Kirsch Auditorium and streamed live for family, friends, and alumni. Chaired by Devin Johnson ’22 and Patrice Langford ’95 & Parent ’24, and supported by members of the BAMIT Board (Patrick Gerdes ‘84, Chair), the BAMIT Program Committee (Debra Carlton ‘75, Chair), and Moana Bentin of the MIT Alumni Association, the BGC program was moving, inspiring, and fun.

Kaelyn Dunnell '25, Co-chair of the Black Students Union, opened the program and presided as MC. BAMIT Board member Rocklyn Clarke ‘80, gave the welcome on behalf of the BAMIT Board and invited the graduates to “engage and continue to have a powerful impact through BAMIT.”

Robert Wickham '93 SM '95, MIT Alumni Association President, welcomed the graduates to the MIT Global Alumni Network and wished them “the courage to go forth and tackle hard problems, to have an impact, and to shift the world on its axis.” Next, the Institute Message was delivered by MIT’s inaugural Vice President for Equity & Inclusion (VPEI) Karl Reid '84 SM '85. He implored the students to “stay connected to this community, stay connected to the Institute, and stay connected to your mission, your purpose, your meaning.”

After an interactive game of trivia, the audience heard from the undergraduate, graduate, and keynote speakers who were selected by the Class of 2024 graduates. Undergraduate Speaker Myles Noel '24 recalled how after starting their freshman year virtually, many students became heavily involved in campus orgs when they finally arrived on campus and “that molded us into leaders, leaders determined to rebuild our communities.” Myles also addressed the prefrosh in attendance and encouraged them to choose MIT for its community, sharing that “The Black community is what led me to choose MIT and honestly the Black community is also the reason why I have been able to overcome the many of the trials and tribulations faced over the past four years.”

Graduate Speaker Jaylen Hackett MBA '24 acknowledged the village of people who supported the students’ journeys to get to MIT and expressed his appreciation for the community he found at MIT upon leaving his village. His advice to the graduates as they go forward was to “Reject the notion of being okay with being the only one…Be a village for someone else…Find, create, and add community of yourself and others.”

After the student band Love and a Sandwich had the audience on their feet and dancing the electric slide, Andre Hamelberg '24, President MIT Undergraduate Association, introduced the Keynote Speaker, Kristala L. J. Prather ’94, Arthur Dehon Little Professor & Department Head, Chemical Engineering.

Undergraduate Keynote Speaker&nbspKristala Prather '94

Photo Courtesy of Frankie Schulte ‘25

Professor Prather asked the graduates to share the things they remember the most fondly about MIT and what they want to be when they grow up / how they want to change the world. She commented on their responses in relation to community and courage, and shared a picture of her MIT community featuring herself and husband Darcy Prather ’91 on their wedding day, surrounded by MIT undergraduate students, graduate students, and staff members. She reflected on what her MIT community has done for her and for each other through the years as an example of what the 2024 graduates may look forward to with the MIT community they have created for themselves. Tying it all together, she thoughtfully concluded, “This is a celebration. It is about you and what you have accomplished as a student. But it is also about what you collectively have achieved. About the fellowship you have built. About the heights to which you will soar, lifted up by the unbreakable bonds of this community that you have both built and that you have inherited.”

Finally, in recognition of the waymakers that have shaped and molded the Black experience at MIT, a tribute was made to the Class of 1974 Black Alumni that are now joining the Cardinal & Gray Society, and the classes that came before them. After closing remarks by the BGC Co-Chairs, attendees continued the celebration outside the auditorium with a delicious dinner catered by Larry J’s BBQ Café.

And then it was time for the moment everyone had been waiting for – the graduates! Rocklyn Clarke ’80 read the names of each graduate as they were presented with a hand-woven, Kente stole embroidered with “MIT” and “Class of 2024.”

The entire event can be viewed using this link: Livestream of 2024 Black Graduate Celebration.

GROWING BAMIT

Volunteer for BAMIT

Help assist BAMIT's mission to support the professional and personal development of the Black community at MIT and amplify the voice of all Black alumni who are committed to leadership, innovation, and positive social transformation. Please let us know where you would like to become more involved by providing the information below. We welcome your ideas, energy, and collaboration.

Review the list of currently available BAMIT volunteer opportunities via the link below or proceed directly to complete the survey.

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Have news about you or another Black Alum? We'd like to hear from you. We welcome items about our Alumni to publish in the BAMIT newsletter. Contact us at [email protected].