Dedication. Perseverance. Determination. Those are a few words used to describe the participants of Livingstone College’s fourth cohort of the Biomanufacturing training program’s graduation class.

The program, celebrating its first anniversary at the college, hosted a cohort made up of Black women – nine to be exact – a first for the program.

“When I realized our cohort was all women and multi-generational, I saw more than a training program,” said Dr. Jo-sette Wilkes, associate professor of chemistry and program coordinator for Livingstone’s biomanufacturing training program. “I saw a space where inclusivity and representation come to life.”

Sponsored by former President Biden’s Build Back Better Initiative, the program is free to North Carolina residents interested in careers in biopharmaceuticals. An industry that is underrepresented by black and brown workers compared to their white counterparts.

In North Carolina, there are 800 companies operating within the life science industry, with the nation’s largest life science park, the Research Triangle Park (RTP), hosting over 300 companies across its 7,000-acre campus. Science publication Bio Science Today describes life science parks as property-based developments generally located near universities or research institutions, that are designed to drive collaboration between academia, the science industry, and the government.

“It’s definitely a game-changer,” Wilkes said. “It gives people in our community a foot in the door to an industry booming with entry-level salaries starting over $65,000.”

Recognition of the college’s all-Black female biomanufacturing cohort comes at a time when approximately 300,000 Black women have exited the American labor force since May for reasons including federal job cuts and the dismantling of DEI programs.

According to the Pew Research Center, Black workers comprise 9% of all employed adults in STEM-related occupations, with only 5% represented in engineering and architecture jobs. When compared to Black males, the gaps become even more apparent with Black females comprising only 1.8% of the total workforce, according to the National Science Foundation.

Antina Jennings, a health care worker and program graduate, attended Livingstone College in the 90s but dropped out before completing her degree.

“I always wanted to return and pursue my degree,” Jennings said. “This program has reawakened my urge to return to school.”

Jennings’s fellow cohort member and Livingstone junior Kaylin Pulley said the program allowed her to take what she learned and turn it into practical skills.

“As a biology major, I feel that this program is very important because it allowed me to dig deeper than I thought I could,” Pulley said. “The course was fast-paced for me and my peers, but the instructors made the lessons easy to retain.”

Instructors like Research Lab Coordinator Alan Lanton and Assistant Professor of Biology, Dr. Felix Adulsi-Danso.

Lanton helped prepare program materials, made food deliveries, and graded both the pre-test and post-test for the students attending the cohort.

“We use the data collected during the test to see how much information is retained by each student, which is not a requirement under the grant,” Wilkes said.

Danso, who trained at the Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE) at North Carolina Central University in May, led the classes during the two-week program. BRITE focuses on health-related research and degree-based workforce development and provides training for instructors of the two-week biomanufacturing program.

Wilkes said Danso’s leadership style was key in the program participants’ success.

Experiences like these can help influence and provide access to a demographic severely underrepresented in STEM fields.  A 2012 study written by scholars Abiola Farinde and Chance Lewis from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte examines the importance of re-educating K-12 educators on how to challenge and cultivate a passion for math and science amongst black female students.

Even though Title IX legally prohibits denying female students access to public school courses, black female students are still classified as low achievers – a label that follows them from elementary to secondary school, preventing them from enrolling in higher academic programs, which hinders their academic growth and lowers their self-esteem.

Tyron Taborn, civic leader and founder of Career Communication Group, echoed a similar argument in an Afro News article written by Megan Sayles, highlighting Black Women in STEM.

“It is important that we create more opportunities for women in STEM, from early education through career advancement,” Taborn wrote.

Taborn went on to write that, to increase (black) women’s representation in STEM, society must build young women’s confidence in math and science, improve STEM education for women, and intentionally attract, recruit, and retain women in STEM majors. His group helps global corporations and governments locate, develop, and retain minorities with STEM backgrounds.

Ermine Cupid-Hastings, the EDA Build Back Better program manager, congratulated the all-women cohort on completing the two-week program and hoped they would advocate and help recruit others to attend the free training program. The grant for this program will end in September 2026.  She applauded the cohort members for the dedication and determination they demonstrated throughout the program and encouraged them to carry that willingness to persevere into other life experiences.

“If you can take the time to invest in your future,” Cupid-Hastings told the women, “I highly recommend it.”