Q&A with Graduate Student Doreen Joseph

Doreen Joseph, Ph.D. candidate in computer science at UC Davis, is steadfast advocate for building community at UC Davis. 

Informally, she builds community among Black Ph.D. students through game nights at her house. Formally, she has contributed to initiatives in the computer science department, on campus and at the University of California systemwide level. These include the Computer Science Program-level Assessment Capacity on Enrichment for Equity Committee, the Chancellor's Graduate and Professional Student Advisory Board and the UC Committee on Affirmative Action, Diversity and Equity, among many others. She is also the Graduate Student Association (GSA) Internal Vice President and the inaugural recipient of the Professor Emeritus Augustine O. Esogbue and Chancellor Gary May Endowed Award in Engineering Diversity. 

We had the chance to sit down with Joseph to learn more about the community she helps create here at UC Davis.

Q: What are some of the key initiatives you worked on at UC Davis that helped foster a sense of belonging within the engineering community?

A: So within the engineering community, much of what I've done has been informal, largely focused on community-building and information-sharing. There is power in both, and both are important for retention. For example, I host game nights and a lot of the people who come to those game nights are people in various programs, including engineering, and a good chunk of them are international students. I like to help build community, so if I can do that by just opening up my home and creating space for people to just come, relax, and get to know each other by playing some games, then I’m happy. 

Community is really important for belonging.

I’ve also participated in groups like Professors for the Future. Through that, I helped co-found an event called Aggie Resilience where we bring students from various demographics together to talk about how to be resilient in grad school and help them build community. We’ve had Chancellor May, his amazing wife LeShelle May, and Vice Chancellor Renetta Garrison Tull attend, which has been great. This year, we partnered with the Promise Engineering Institute, which I am a fellow of, and it was great to see our UC Irvine PEI fellows come up to attend in-person. When PEI started, it was just me and my friend Toluwa at UC Davis, but it’s been so beautiful to see how it has grown across cohorts, a testament to its impact.

Q: What motivated you to dedicate your time to those initiatives?

A: Honestly, just seeing a need. As a student leader, I've been in many different leadership spaces, but one thing I noticed, especially at a place like UC Davis, is that institutions can be very decentralized/siloed. Everyone is in their specific departments, and they talk to each other within labs and departments, but there isn’t always a broader connection. I saw a need for people to connect. When I came into grad school, I was entering a completely new space. I didn’t know anyone in California — my first time here was for my Ph.D. preview day. So, I was intentional about creating a community for myself. I was able to do that in many spaces, but realized it wasn’t necessarily easy at UC Davis. I started focusing on how to help others build connections.
For the last couple of years, I’ve been focused on community building and being a connector. I think that’s something I inherited from Vice Chancellor Renetta Garrison Tull because she is very much a connector and always makes her network available to others. Seeing her impact on my life and the way she builds connections inspired me to do the same. That’s what got me started.

Q: How have you seen mentorship support a sense of belonging for students and scholars, especially within engineering?

A: Chancellor May talks about this often. People ask him how he became Chancellor, and he always mentions how mentors along the way helped steer him. Even with the award I won last year — the Esogbue-May Award for Engineering Diversity — it’s easy to see how his mentor Dr. Esogbue influenced him. Chancellor May’s mentor was the first Black tenured faculty member at Georgia Tech, and seeing that representation showed him that path was possible for him. Representation matters.
Mentors can change your whole trajectory. In undergrad, my path shifted because of an academic advisor. Initially, I was an IT major because I thought it was easy enough for me. However, I was taking an Honors Calculus III math class that I didn’t need for my degree, just for fun. My advisor questioned why I was taking it and suggested I switch to either a more challenging math degree or a cybersecurity engineering degree since I was already going into cybersecurity. I ended up earning a cybersecurity engineering degree with a math minor. Without her guidance, my path would have been completely different. She challenged what I thought I could do, which was the first time someone had done that for me.
This was crazy for me at first because I’m a planner. I had my four-year plan set, but she changed that plan entirely halfway through my first semester, encouraging me into taking engineering courses. It’s rare to see someone switch majors before even finishing their first semester, but that was my story. It happened through mentorship I wasn’t even seeking, and I’m forever grateful. I’ve had many mentors who have challenged me in different ways, but that first experience truly shaped my journey.

Q: What does receiving the inaugural Esogbue-May Award in Engineering Diversity mean to you, personally and professionally?

A: Honestly, I was deeply honored. The people this award is named after are not just anyone — they are greats in engineering. It was a bit of a “deer in headlights” moment, realizing I had received an award tied to their legacy. Beyond the honor, I also felt a responsibility to live up to the standard they set.
The award was an affirmation that the work I do matters. A lot of what I do is behind the scenes, so the public recognition was unexpected. But I don’t do this work for recognition. Interacting with Chancellor May and Dr. Esogbue and learning about the intention behind the award was humbling. They have incredible legacies in mentorship — Chancellor May even has a lifetime mentorship award. Seeing their impact reinforced that I have a trajectory to create change in engineering, help diversify the field, and reduce disparities. I pray I can continue honoring their legacies.

Q: What are some of the most rewarding moments you've experienced while creating a more inclusive environment in engineering?

A: Right now, I work with various students informally, and it’s always rewarding to see them succeed. When a student I worked with gets into grad school and emails me saying, “I got into this program and that program, which one should I choose?”— that's a tangible impact. Knowing my efforts contribute to their success is rewarding.
Another rewarding aspect has been connecting with amazing people who I know will become future higher education administrators, leaders, and changemakers across the world. As an introvert, networking isn’t always easy, but I love meeting people and seeing their bright futures. It excites me to be a part of their journeys.

Community is really important to me. I’m Kenyan, and Africans value community. We are built within a community—the saying “it takes a village” is true. Seeing my own village develop and grow from undergrad to grad school has been incredibly encouraging.

Q: Do you hope to inspire others earlier in their engineering journeys, or those at similar career points as you?

A: I never actively sought to be an inspiration, but I recognize that I am visible. As a Black woman in academia, involved in multiple spaces, I stand out. At first, it was uncomfortable because I don’t seek the spotlight, I prefer the background. But hearing from people who say, “You helped me do this, you inspired me to do that,” made me realize that’s part of my purpose.
I love serving and seeing people cross paths with me and realize they can do more. It ties back to representation. I like trying different things and serving in various capacities, and I enjoy showing others that they can do the same. Exposure creates options. If someone encounters me and sees a new possibility for their own path, then I feel like I’ve done my job.

Q: How has being a graduate student in engineering influenced your perspective on empowered, informed, and inclusive leadership in the professional world?

Engineering is about solving the world’s problems, and that mindset has shaped my leadership. When I enter a room and see a problem, I don’t just point it out; I want to be part of the solution. That’s how my community-building efforts began. I saw that graduate students struggled to build community, so I asked, “What can I do about it?” and leveraged my network to help them connect.

Being solution-oriented has been my biggest takeaway from engineering. When I mentor student leaders, I tell them that bringing a problem is only half the work—bring a problem, but also bring solutions. In engineering, there are many ways to solve a problem, and leadership requires the same open-mindedness.

Beyond engineering, my leadership journey was shaped by mentors. In undergrad, my National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) advisor saw leadership potential in me before I did. I didn’t even apply for my first NSBE leadership role—someone nominated me and I accepted the challenge. I met with the board, unsure why they wanted me, but I gave it a shot. That experience, along with my advisor’s encouragement, was transformative. (Fun fact: my NSBE advisor completed his Ph.D. in chemistry at UC Davis, which influenced my decision to come here.)

Now, I strive to call leadership out in others. Many students underestimate their power, saying, “I’m just a student.” I challenge that mindset. I want to cultivate future leaders.

As the Graduate Student Association (GSA) Internal Vice President this year, I’m developing a shadowing program to help students step into leadership. Beyond just fulfilling the role, I want to ensure future leaders are ready to take over.
Another initiative I helped champion is Passing the Torch, which we are continuing this year. Universities operate on long-term change, often spanning multiple years and leadership transitions. Too much institutional knowledge is lost when leaders leave. Passing the Torch and the GSA shadowing program aim to retain that knowledge, ease leadership transitions, and maintain momentum on key initiatives. This year, we are also educating graduate students on university structures through crash courses. These efforts ensure future leaders aren’t overwhelmed, but instead empowered to continue the work already in motion.