#WCWinSTEM: Onjalé Scott Price, M.B.A. (she/her)
Onjalé is a renaissance woman specializing in business and STEM program management, social justice, and making change through local politics.
Responses may be edited for clarity and brevity.
Where did you go to school?
- B.S. in Civil Engineering, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL
- M.B.A., Western Governors University, Online (campus located in Salt Lake City, UT)
What do you do right now?
I wear a few hats right now: Chief Operating Officer at Mizar Imaging, Co-Director of the Woods Hole Partnership Education Program (PEP), and a member of the Falmouth Select Board. I was trained as a Civil Engineer and though I only worked briefly in that field, I have learned to apply my engineering skills and mindset into these positions.
I made the transition from actively working as an engineer to program/business management shortly after graduation. I enjoyed problem solving and managing systems, but the actual engineering work did not fulfill me. Instead, I found ways to use my engineering mindset and skills to successfully manage a small business, direct a stellar internship and make positive changes in my community through local politics.
At Mizar Imaging I am the Chief Operating Officer, managing the daily operations of our small microscope company. We design and manufacture microscope equipment for live-cell imaging. As a trained engineer I think about the business as an engineering system. There is the whole company to manage while focusing on the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the daily operations, how the departments work together to achieve the overall business goals and how to make it as efficient as possible.
Similarly, as the Co-Director of the Woods Hole Partnership Education Program (PEP) I manage the various internship program aspects such as recruiting students, reviewing applications, matching students with research and program mentors, and managing the program staff. I am responsible for managing all the moving parts of the program to ensure a worthwhile and meaningful program for my students.
I sit on the Falmouth Select Board with 4 other members and together we make executive decisions and set policies for the Town of Falmouth. It is imperative I think critically about these decisions and policies, ensuring all information is gathered and considered. Training as an engineer taught me how to think critically and ‘outside of the box’, which is incredibly useful when making large scale decisions for the Town that have significant impacts.
What is your favorite aspect of your current role?
As Co-Director of PEP I have the privilege of meeting, mentoring and supporting the most amazing students! PEP primarily recruits students from underrepresented backgrounds in STEM who have the interest and drive to be successful scientists. These students often overcome incredible challenges and persevere in the most inspiring ways. Knowing that my role in managing the program, mentoring the students, advocating for them, and encouraging them might just make a positive difference in their lives, makes every day worth it.
I didn’t really know what I wanted to be, but I knew I loved science, nature, and watching “The Crocodile Hunter”
What made you choose your STEM discipline in the first place?
When I was at the age where people started to ask me “what do you want to be when you grow up”, I would answer depending on how I felt that day. Sometimes I wanted to be a zoologist, sometimes an astronaut, sometimes a ‘professional tree hugger’ (I don’t remember saying this one, but my mom does).
I didn’t really know what I wanted to be, but I knew I loved science, nature, and watching “The Crocodile Hunter” and “The Jeff Corwin Experience”. I wanted a job where I could be outside learning about animals or the ocean like them. I was realistic that I probably wouldn’t have a TV show though.
When it came time to choose a college and a major, I was eyeing zoology and environmental science programs. Unfortunately, I didn’t know how to make a career out of my interests, so I was encouraged to ‘find a job that would make good money’. Since I had always loved science, and LEGOs too, I turned my interest to engineering.
I started my college career as an aerospace engineer and joined Navy ROTC to become a pilot and ultimately an astronaut. After 2 years I realized the military was not how I wanted to serve my community and aerospace engineering was not for me. I would have liked to switch to environmental engineering, to get closer to my interest in environmental science, but my university didn’t have the major and the closest I could come to it was civil engineering.
And yes, I still build LEGO sets often!
What piece of work are you most proud of (publication, presentation, project, etc.)?
In 2020 and 2021 the PEP internship was held virtually. We spent a LOT of time thinking through how to run a good virtual program, soliciting help and input from our alumni and others familiar with the program. At the end of the 2020 program my colleagues and I wrote an article detailing why and how we made the experience possible, and why we thought it was so successful.
In the article we discussed how the students we serve, those underrepresented in STEM, could not afford to take a summer off from pursuing their career goals. We discussed their need and desire to have a worthwhile summer experience, and it was up to us to figure out how to provide that despite the circumstances. The article details everything we did, from describing how we built community in the virtual setting, the support we provided on professional and personal levels, to the structure of the course. It was, and still is, our hope that other programs and institutions can learn from PEP to be able to run their own virtual programs. We also hope it can help make STEM more accessible to people who are unable to participate in in-person experiences. We published the article open source and it is accessible here.
What’s one piece of advice you wish you had when you started your STEM journey?
I wish I had known: there is no shame in not knowing what you want to do for the rest of your life, or changing your mind along the way OR doing multiple things!
Too often I hear from students that they are expected to focus on one career, one idea or one goal and just do that one thing; I too had this same mindset. The reality is that so many fields, especially STEM related fields are so interconnected and complementary to each other. Even the fields that seem completely different can be pursued and worthwhile. And you don’t have to stay in your exact field or area of study for your whole career! Some people retire from research or academics after 30+ years, but that’s not everyone’s path. You absolutely do not have to continue doing what you did in college for the rest of your life.
There is no shame in not knowing what you want to do for the rest of your life, or changing your mind along the way OR doing multiple things!
I was fascinated and deeply interested in the oceans, but when I made the decision to pursue aerospace engineering I felt that I needed to (and I did) give up all dreams of working with the ocean. I didn’t know that I could use that degree or those engineering skills to explore the ocean using robotics, managing research cruises or designing apparatus for ocean exploration. One of my closest friends has a degree in aerospace engineering and is an engineer in an Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering department! I wish I had known that I could combine my interest in rocket science with the oceans.
I remember feeling like a failure when I switched from aerospace to civil engineering. I literally gave up studying rocket science to pursue another degree I wasn’t passionate about. At least rocket science was rocket science! I was ashamed to admit I still didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I thought I’d feel more shame in switching to another degree at another school (Embry-Riddle is an aviation school with no options outside of flying, engineering or business).
I wish I had known it was okay to not know what you wanted to do and spend time exploring. I would have also saved myself a LOT of money taking courses at a community college first…but that’s another topic for discussion!
How did you find support within your institution or field?
Unfortunately, I never found support in my institution or field. I had a few professors who were encouraging and supportive, but overwhelmingly my experiences were negative and disheartening. I experienced a plethora of racism and sexism within teams and from professors throughout my college experience.
Thankfully, during my sophomore year I was accepted into the Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success (MS PHD’S) Professional Development Program, run by Dr. Ashanti Johnson. At first I felt out of place, being among 30+ scientists of color ranging from undergrads to post-docs, who were so confident in their fields and career trajectory. I was not confident in my field, career or even myself in many ways. I was honest with my cohort, sharing my lack of confidence, feeling isolated at my PWI (predominately white institution) and not feeling supported. My cohort members opened up and shared their personal stories of struggle and success, how they overcame their insecurities and what made them so confident in their abilities as scientists.
The MS PHD’S Program is what helped me get through the remaining years of school. When I had a racist encounter in class, or my professor said something horribly inappropriate and no one at the school would deal with it, I always had my MS PHD’S family to talk to. Dr. Ambrose Jearld, Jr. was my mentor in the program and I could always call on him for a listening ear, support and advice. Other members of the program and I would regularly check in on each other and encourage one another to do our best and finish our degrees.
Thankfully I’ve ended up somewhere where I am really happy in my personal and professional life, where I enjoy the work I do in my community on the Select Board, with students of color in STEM through PEP and among some brilliant scientists at Mizar.
What do you think the field can do to make STEM more equitable?
All STEM fields, like the rest of our society, need to reconcile with their past and understand how these inequities were created and are being perpetuated. Once we understand the inequities and how they manifest, we can take appropriate action.
STEM fields need to reconcile with their past and understand how inequities were created and are being perpetuated.
For example, internships and research experiences are important in a budding scientist’s career. However, most internships either recruit from familiar schools (i.e. the institutions the internship hosts are from) or they don’t recruit at all and expect name recognition to gather applicants. Instead, institutions should actively recruit from HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), HSIs (Hispanic Serving Institutions), Tribal Colleges and other MSIs (Minority Serving Institutions).
What else are you passionate about?
I am passionate about service to my community. I served in AmeriCorps for a year, doing STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) activities with children at the public library, and now I serve as a public official on the Falmouth Select Board. I’m also passionate about social justice in STEM and our society. I was on the leadership team for URGE (Unlearning Racism in Geoscience), and I co-host and co-produce a local TV show called “The Conversation” where we have open and honest conversation about race. I also really enjoy drone photography!
Thank you, Onjalé, for sharing your story, and your renaissance take on using STEM to make the world a better place! We’re honored to have you in our #VSVillage!
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