Celebrating Diversity: Courtney Young
Black History Month: February
In the College of Engineering, all are welcome. To better share the stories of how our faculty, staff, students and alumni are diverse in their many varying forms, we are celebrating various heritage and other nationally recognized months. This recognition will include stories about those in our greater engineering community, as well as sharing events and other opportunities.
Courtney Young
Major: Computer Engineering
Q: Describe a bit about your personal and/or professional background.
A: I’m the middle child of my family. I have an older sister and a younger brother and I was born and raised in Omaha.I actually wanted to major in biomedical engineering, but UNO doesn’t have that so I decided to give computer engineering a try. It's really grown on me and I'm enjoying all the new things I'm learning. I also plan on attending graduate school to get my PhD in Biomedical Engineering so I can do research and teach.
Q: What is your role in the College of Engineering – and what do you enjoy (love!) about what you are doing?
A: Recently, I became the NSBE president. Through that, I’m hoping to get more black students in Omaha interested in our program and I want to focus on getting the club members the support they need to graduate. I want to be a leader, mentor, and friend to all of them. I’m also trying to get involved in doing research this Summer at a University.Q: Why is it important to celebrate one’s heritage? Why is it meaningful to you and your family? Is there a specific example/event/tradition of how you showcase or celebrate your heritage in its many forms?
A: To me, heritage is very important because it’s all about where you come from. For black people in the US it can be hard to reflect on our heritage because there’s a lot of it that has been erased. And the culture that we’ve built is not always accepted. This is why it’s important for me to celebrate my African American heritage and trace back to my African roots.I celebrate my heritage everyday by the way I do my hair. It may seem like such an unimportant thing. And of course this is college, no one is dressed up or trying to look good. But that’s not the point for me. I do my hair according to how I feel and I want my hair to reflect my heritage. I want to stand out because of it.