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At just 27 years old, Lindsay Davis has set a new standard at the University of Texas. On August 19, Davis walked across the graduation stage at the University of Texas to claim her doctoral degree in chemistry. Not only did she cross an item off of her personal bucket list, but she also made history as the first Black student to earn a doctoral degree in chemistry from the University of Texas.
“I’m extremely excited, I feel like my dreams just came true,” Davis told CBS DFW.
“Oftentimes we are overlooked for certain positions or in certain cases, but we are here to let the world know that we are capable and that we’re here to do our jobs as well.”
The road was not easy for Davis. At the University of Texas, she was one of a handful of Black students pursuing a post-graduate STEM-related degree at the university. Her mentor, Dr. Kayunta Johnson-Winters, is also the only Black woman working in the university's college of science.
“I suffered [from] imposter syndrome for so long. I believe that this experience will allow me to inspire so many people," Davis said.
“The goal is to reach back and grab somebody else and train them and bring them along,” Johnson-Winters added.
Davis is not stopping here. In the fall, she plans to move to Oklahoma and begin working at Langston University, a historically Black institution.
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