Making the University her own
When President Eric F. Spina spoke to the initial cohort of Flyer Promise Scholars in 2017, Yasmin Espino Whittaker ’22 listened with open ears, wide eyes and a heart full of anticipation. To this day, Whittaker remembers Spina telling the group of eager first-year students to “make this university your own” — something she has continued to do as an involved alumna through volunteering.
Whittaker said, “That charge really pushed me to look at, ‘What can I bring to campus that will not only have a seat for me but bring a seat for a lot of people to the table that don't really have a voice right now?’”
In that spirit, as a student Whittaker brought Alpha Psi Lambda, a co-ed, Latin-based fraternity to campus with the help of friends she had met in the Multi-Ethnic Engineers Program.
“When I was looking at Greek life on campus, I didn't really see anywhere that I fit,” Whittaker said. “There were primarily white sororities. There were the historically black sororities. But there was nothing that I felt represented me as a person.”
“[T]here was nothing that I felt represented me as a person.”
In what Whittaker called a “full-circle moment,” her younger sister who attends UD joined the fraternity last year, finding a seat at the table her older sister made available.
A graduate of Dayton’s Marianist high school, Chaminade Julienne, Whittaker fell in love with UD after a campus visit during her sophomore year of high school. Before her first year at UD, Whittaker was making a seat for herself at multiple tables by becoming fully immersed in the engineering school.
“In my process of going to UD, I went to every single event that the School of Engineering had, even if it was the same event on a different day,” Whittaker said. “I forced my mom to take me to every single event.”
As a student, Whittaker worked as a desk assistant for the Diversity in Engineering Center, a job she said she wouldn’t have gotten if it wasn’t for her visible loyalty and dedication to the engineering program. Additionally, she served as an engineering ambassador for four years. In this role she acted as a tour guide for families of prospective engineering students and answered any questions they had when showing them around.
“I went in with an open heart and I didn’t know what to expect, but I came out with so much.”
Beyond her various involvements in the engineering program, Whittaker also found her place in Campus Ministry, where she went on retreats and did service projects. With her faith being an important part of her identity, Whittaker now works in Orlando, Florida, as an industrial engineer for the Christian-based Nautique Boat Co. Whittaker said the job appealed to her with the volunteer and mission trip opportunities the company offered.
Three years after graduation, Whittaker is still as involved with the University as she was when she was a student, including in volunteer positions that support engagement goals for the We Soar campaign. Serving on the student-to-alumni committee as part of day10 and continuing to share her love with prospective students through Flyer Champions, Whittaker gives her time to ensure that past and future students always find that special sense of community at UD.
“My drive for giving back to UD is the fact that UD has given me so much,” Whittaker said. “When Flyer Promise started my senior year of high school, I felt like it was a sign from God, like, ‘This is where you go on,’ and through Flyer Promise, I [had] so many opportunities. I met my husband [Tre Whittaker ’21], and now we have a child. So, I feel like UD has given me everything that I could have asked for and so much more. I went in with an open heart and I didn’t know what to expect, but I came out with so much.”
Photographs courtesy Yasim Espino Whittaker. Wedding photos by Javier Mendoz Fotographia.