Black excellence at its finest! Meet, Mareena Robinson Snowden.
In June, Robinson Snowden landed in the history books and made her father very proud by becoming the very first black woman to ever receive her Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The scientist posted a few pictures on social media where she shared her gratitude to the many brilliant women who inspired her.
She also, of course, thanked her family, professors and her husband of 11 years for being by her side during this amazing journey.
Robinson Snowden wrote: “First black woman to earn a PhD from MIT in Nuclear Engineering **insert praise break here* No one can tell me God isn’t. Grateful is the best word I have to describe how I feel. Grateful for every part of this experience – highs, and lows. Every person who supported me and those who didn’t. Grateful for a praying family, a husband who took on this challenge as his own, sisters who reminded me at every stage how powerful I am, friends who inspired me to fight harder. Grateful for the professors who fought for and against me. Every experience on this journey was necessary, and I’m better for it.”
She named a few of the great brains who paved the way for her:”Tiera Fletcher, Ciara Sivels, Grey Batie, Staci Brown, Njema Fraizer, Delonia Wiggins, Jami Valentine Miller and many more.”
Robinson Snowden also celebrated another beautiful milestone — 11 years of marital bliss.
Here is the note she penned to her loving husband: “I normally don’t like to write long captions, especially about my relationship, but I today felt like sharing. Today, @reggiesnowden and I celebrated 11 years together. This year is significant because my parents got divorced after 11 years of marriage, not because of a lack of love but from a mix of other things – one being not working hard enough on themselves to save their marriage. I started this relationship not fully understanding the mechanics of a healthy partnership. I expected conflict and bomb throwing. I spent the first few years waiting for the drama to start. What I learned in these 11 years is love doesn’t have to look like that. Love doesn’t have to be dramatic and uncertain. Love can be consistent and reliable and forgiving. For the last 11 years, @reggiesnowden has been a constant source of calibration and encouragement for me. He values me for my strengths and my weaknesses (of which I have many). He tries to understand me, and is patient and helpful when I’m struggling. For 11 years, we have been building a relationship, one day at a time, by working on ourselves. Since 2008, I’ve learned a lot about the mechanics of a healthy partnership. We’re not perfect, and that’s okay. I’m grateful for him and hope that he knows how special he is to me. Here’s to us babe.”
Her incredible success has gone viral on social media.
