I don’t know about you, but when I was 9, the most intellectual thing I did was probably learn what a square root is. Don’t hold me to that, though, I don’t remember my math lessons very well. I can say with complete certainty though that, at the age of 9, I was not sitting in a library educating myself about Alzheimer’s. But you know who was? Grace Williams.

how her story began

It all started in the year 1999, when 9-year-old Grace was in the car with her father, waiting at a red light. But when the light turned green, he didn’t move. He had forgotten that green meant ‘go’.

Soon after, Grace’s father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Watching her father go through such this life altering disease fueled Grace to want to understand what was happening to him. This was the beginning of her journey into researching this disease. Fast forward a couple of decades, and today, Grace is an Alzheimer’s Association Congressional Ambassador.

“Alzheimer’s will always be a part of my life. But it has also created opportunities for me to help others.”

– Grace Williams

her early start

When you stay awake till 3am compulsively scrolling through Wikipedia articles, you’re actually educating yourself. Grace began educating herself about her father’s illness from a very young age. She’d spend hours on end in the library reading about the disease . Because her family struggled financially, Grace helped out wherever she could. By the time she was 12, she was her father’s primary caregiver.

Observing the illness from such close proximity, she began to get increasingly fascinated by the functions of the brain. At the time, the internet was not as readily available to her as it may be to us today, so she did her research the old fashioned way using books. Not only did she learn more about the brain and the body, but she also decided that she wanted to use all that she had learnt to help the people around her.

Grace Williams
Grace Williams – Photo from Alzheimer’s Association

When intelligence meets compassion, brilliant things happen. Grace Williams is a living example of this.

overcoming discrimination

As a queer black woman, she had to face a number of barriers, each of which she broke with passion. She was the only student of color to take part in her honors classes in high school. Being the only person who looks like you in a certain environment can leave you with worries about whether you’re meant to be there in the first place. But Grace persevered, and went on to study Biomedical Engineering in college, where she was only one out of three women of color in her honors class, a statistic that should worry every person that sees it.

She was also on the receiving end of comments that questioned whether she, as a black woman, should even be allowed a place in the program.

When she began her post-graduate education, one of Grace’s seniors stated that he would refuse to train or work with anyone if he knew that they were queer.

It was like every level of education unlocked a new layer of prejudice. But her conviction allowed Grace to navigate her path and become the successful role model that she is today.

This was a very disheartening interaction for Grace, as she herself identifies as bisexual. She was only out to some of her close friends and family at the time, and I can only imagine how painful it was for her to hear such a remark.

queer people in STEM

The sad truth is that this is not a one off event. Far too many LGBT aspiring scientists give up their pursuit of the sciences because of the discrimination they face, and lack of representation and accessibility.

Black pride
Black Pride: Photo by Jakayla Toney on Unsplash

Bryce Hughes, an assistant professor at Montana State University, is currently studying this particular manifestation of the leaky pipeline effect. According to these studies, the lack of role models and abundance of prejudice often makes queer people in STEM wonder, “do I even belong here?”.

For every 100 straight people to make it all the way to the 4th year of a STEM college program, only 90 queer people join them. That’s 10% less.

But there is a solution. There are an increasing number of clubs and cohorts emerging in universities across the globe with the aim of representing the marginalized. These include clubs for women in STEM, queer people in STEM, and POC in STEM. Supporting these cohorts and hearing their stories is one of the best ways in which we can help decrease prejudice and become more equitable.

“Shouldn’t everybody be able to do science if that’s something they’re good at and it’s something they want to do?”

– Bryce Hughes

Grace Williams: revolutionary

Currently, Grace is a PhD candidate at Louisiana Tech University with a focus on molecular science and nanotechnology. Her recent publications explore mechanisms that may lead to the development of Alzheimer’s.

In addition, her position as Alzheimer’s Association Congressional Ambassador allows her to advocate for policies and legislations. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Louisiana Chapter of Alzheimer’s Association.

Grace continues to relentlessly advocate for Alzheimer’s awareness, trying to improve the resources available for people struck by the disease. She shares her story at forums, and inspires anyone going through a similar experience.

alzheimers
Alzheimers: Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash

the takeaway

Don’t let discrimination stop you from achieving what you were meant to achieve. If you ever doubt whether you belong somewhere, let Grace’s story inspire you, a Black Bisexual Woman in STEM, who pushed through countless struggles and became a revolutionary icon. In honor of Pride Month, let’s highlight the stories and achievements of queer women in STEM, but let’s not forget their struggles in other months of the year. We must educate ourselves and actively work against the discrimination that is still prevalent for queer people in science. And of course, let’s never forget,

“Queer women in science? Shocker, we exist!“

References: 1, 2, 3, 4

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