![]() ![]() In 1956, West was hired to work at the Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Virginia, (now called the Naval Surface Warfare Center), where she was the second black woman ever hired and one of only four black employees. Afterward, she briefly took another teaching position in Martinsville, Virginia.ĭata processing report for GeoSat by Gladys West West then returned to VSU to complete her Master of Mathematics degree, graduating in 1955. After graduating, she taught math and science for two years in Waverly, Virginia. ![]() West graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics. She also became a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. She was encouraged to major in science or math because of their difficulty, and West ultimately chose to study mathematics, a subject mostly studied at her college by men. She was initially unsure what college major to pursue at VSU, as she had excelled in all her subjects in high school. West, with her determination and discipline, graduated valedictorian in 1948 and received a much-needed scholarship. West began babysitting to help save but ultimately, her superior academic performance made the difference.Īt West’s high school, the top two students of each graduating class received full-ride scholarships to Virginia State College (now formally University), a historically black public university. Her parents tried their best to save but supporting an entire family on a sharecropper’s wage didn’t leave much left for West’s education. When West was on her way to graduating high school, the only obstacle keeping her from higher education was a financial one. West realized early on that she did not want to work in the tobacco fields or factories like the rest of her family, and decided that education would be her way out. Her father was a farmer who also worked for the railroad. She spent much of her childhood working on her family’s small farm. Her family was an African-American farming family in a community of sharecroppers. West was born as Gladys Mae Brown in Sutherland, Virginia, in Dinwiddie County, a rural county south of Richmond. ![]() You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Harlem World Magazine, 2521 1/2 west 42nd street, Los Angeles, CA, 90008. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |