Michigan Tech celebrated Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Alumni Lounge in the Memorial Union Building with the visit to campus of alumnus, Dr. Robin Johnson Cash. In 2015 Cash became the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics from Michigan Technological University since the establishment of the university in 1885.
Cash delivered a lecture about her experiences as a minority student in the Upper Peninsula and as an engineer at Ford Motor Company for many years. The lecture was organized by the Center for Diversity and Inclusion to mark Black History Month and as part of the Centre’s Social Justice Lecture Series.
In her lecture titled “How sturdy is your armor?” Cash admonished current students to dare to be original and different in life. Drawing on her personal story, Cash said “I am proud to be the first! My experience was rich and fulfilling. I am now forever connected to this premier university and this relationship has increased my professional network 10 fold. I push you to be a pioneer in your own right, to be the first, to be original, to be different to be a hard worker to accomplish your dreams.”
Cash continued to offer seven steps to building an armor for the self because “school, life, and your careers will have challenges that often feel like a battle.” She reiterated the importance of building an armor, “My own experiences may have been much different for me had I not been protected with my complete armor. This armor took many years to construct and requires continual maintenance. In fact, it is what gets me through my long days at Ford Motor Company where I have worked for the last 28.5 years and my various teaching commitments. You too should be building your personal armor.”
Her seven steps to building an armor are: recognize your gifts, expose yourself to the boundless possibilities of STEM, face your fears, establish a premier work ethic, develop relationships, develop your personal plan, and identify your role model and stand on his or her shoulders.
Apart from working at the Ford Motor Company, she also teaches Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Introduction to Engineering as an adjunct professor at Tuskegee University since 1995, Lawrence Technological University since 1996 and Eastern Michigan University since 2012 and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide since 2016.
