Audio for Interview with Professor Chawne Kimber

My interview with Lafayette math Professor Chawne Kimber was interesting.  I realized that there are people working hard to solve the problems that I have identified and that they are meeting some opposition.  Professor Kimber’s Summer Leadership Program is designed to provide students opportunities for success in fields where they are underrepresented.  I was surprised to learn about the difficulties she faced in creating this program.

Another thing I took away from the interview was something that I am not sure how to react to.  Kimber talked about how she learned to accept the fact that people hated her based on factors she could not control.  I believe that this is much less common now, but the problem I had was her acceptance of it.  Listening to the interview I can’t help but think about how hard it is to accept something like that whether it is gender, race, or financial situation.

Professor Kimber was open with stories about her supportive family and how they helped her deal with living in the South, which was tough at times.  She realizes that she is in a position now to make an easier path for students to succeed than she had, and she is working hard to make that possible.  Last summer her leadership program had nine students and they all benefited greatly from her work with them.  It is great to see more and more people who have had success and are paying it forward, and even better to see that those people working to solve the problem are the same people I am  interviewing.