Fantasi Nicole (she/her/hers) identifies as a Black scholar-activist and Black feminist in the Engineering Education PhD program at Purdue. Her current research interests center around the intersecting oppressions experienced by Black women and their journeys to self-definition through resilience and activism in engineering spaces. Her primary career objective is to leverage her research abilities, experiences, and networks to provide Black women with resources for empowerment and success.
She is currently a graduate research assistant for I-MATTER where she focuses on interventions addressing discrimination and biases within engineering teams. She also serves as PI and Co-PI for 2 university-funded grants: one focusing on the creation and implementation of a scholar-activist course for students to create social justice-oriented projects within graduate education, and the other focusing on the disciplinary and surveillance practices experienced by Black women in higher education.
Community service is a major pillar of her success and she currently serves as the Undergraduate Outreach Chair for the Black Graduate Student Association and the Graduate Committee Junior Chair and Social Justice and Inclusion Chair for the Engineering Education Graduate Student Association. Fantasi has served in many roles (both paid and volunteer) with the Minority Engineering Program at Purdue and has volunteered with the HeadsUp Mentoring Program for underprivileged youth in Lafayette.
She holds a BS and MS in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Mississippi State University and Auburn University, respectively.
Fun Fact: She is a plus-size model and brand ambassador for Black-owned boutiques and uses her social media platform as an influencer for empowerment and outreach.