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Art of ambition

Art of ambition

Sarina Tacović January 09, 2025

The weekend of the UD Alumni Awards, Nelda Janine Connors '87 returned to UD. She made time between events to meet with eight students from the Multi-Ethnic Engineers Program. Each student had a different interest area, but they were all eager to take a note from her playbook.

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Nelda Janine Connors '87

Andrew Grant, a mechanical engineering technology major, wants to work in sales and asked Connors about finding opportunities. In response, she emphasized the value of co-ops and internships. "It's almost as important to take the opportunity to figure out what you don't want to do," she said.

Josefina Alvarez, also a mechanical engineering major, was curious about motivation and inspiration.

"I knew I wanted to have my own business at some point, so I saw my career as the training ground," Connors said.

"Rather than a title, look at those whose careers you want to emulate because you can get there in different ways."

The group also discussed their generational differences in campus resources for ethnically diverse students. When the topic of imposter syndrome came up, Connors shared her experience studying and working in Japan after UD. She said people had assumptions about why she, a Black woman, was there, but her mentor quickly set the tone.

"Before our first meeting, he said, 'Don't take notes or get the coffee. If [others] have a problem with you being their equal, let it be their problem, not yours,'" she said. "I still hear that in my head."

 

A version of this article appears in print in the Winter 2024-45 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 51. EXPLORE THE ISSUEMORE ONLINE

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