Seated in the hallway of her high school, Eugenia Duodu’s head was buried deep in her science textbooks when a student teacher approached.“You like science?” asked the teacher. Duodu, then in Grade 11, nodded.Duodu loved science, even though her friends thought it was uncool. It had been a closeted passion since childhood, when she relished TV shows such as The Magic School Bus and Bill Nye the Science Guy. But she had never dreamed of pursuing science. Being Black, raised by a single mom in social housing in Etobicoke, she didn’t see herself in that world. She didn’t know any scientists and thought they were old white men in lab coats with messy hair. Albert Einstein typesThe teacher told Duodu about an upcoming summer mentorship program at the University of Toronto, where students of Indigenous and African ancestry work alongside researchers in labs and clinics. Duodu had grappled with impostor syndrome, doubting her accomplishments and questioning if science was a good fit for her, even though she was a hard worker and had the grades to prove it. And, although she didn’t know it, science was literally in her DNA.She applied, was accepted, and, for the first time, stepped onto a university campus, where she met scientists who looked like her with similar upbringings.“We were like, ‘What? You exist?’... My classmates and I were like, ‘We can do this.’... It was a game changer.”More Changemakers:Renowned spine surgeon is transforming the way Ontario deals with back painShe was determined to stop the senseless dying in her city. What she did next was illegal — but it saved livesHe had an idea to reduce food waste. It helped feed 2 million peopleDuodu went on to get a PhD in chemistry. She’s now CEO of Visions of Science Network for Learning, a charitable organization that runs free educational programs in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for youth in low-income com ...
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