NASA engineer Dajae Williams uses hip hop to teach math and science to young people.
During an interview with NPR, Williams talked about how her love of math and how she turned her from something she struggled into into her passion.
"One of our tasks was to write a song about the quadratic formula, and what she introduced us to was really boring," she said. "It wasn't the song for me. When I took it home I might have heard Soulja Boy or something on my MP3 player or something on the way home and literally just started doing the chorus."
Williams says that when she introduced her song to her class in school, they went wild and created a new hobby for them.
“The way in which these topics were taught was incomprehensible. And if it cannot be assigned, it is not unforgettable, ”she said. "I make music that combines hip-hop and math to encourage underprivileged youth to explore STEM."
According to Williams & # 39; LinkedIn, she is a manufacturing engineer at NASA and works in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Before that, she was an intern in Flight Technicians Services until she was hired at the scientific academy.
As advice to other young black people interested in math and science, Williams says they should listen to their music and ask questions.
"Don't be afraid to ask questions in the classroom," she advised. "If you have a question, there is probably someone next to or behind you who has the same question, so don't be afraid to ask questions."
Listen to Dajae Williams' interview with NPR below.
