Affiliation: Professor, Department of Mathematics, Norfolk State University
Education: BS and MS, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Hampton University
PhD, Biostatistics, Virginia Commonwealth University

In our home in Williamsburg, Virginia, math was our thing. I was raised in a home of a mathematician. My father, Ronald Ellis, was a 1973 graduate of Norfolk State University, where he earned a BS in mathematics. My older brother, Shawn, and I followed in our dad’s footsteps, earning a degree in mathematics—my brother from Norfolk State like dad and me from Hampton.

I loved my statistics course as an undergraduate math major, but did not find my path until a couple years later. Who would have thought a simple walk across the Hampton University campus would open my mind to the possibility of becoming a biostatistician? It was then that I ran into a family friend and biology professor who told me about this ‘new booming field’ I needed to look up, and the rest was history. I went on to become the second African American to complete at PhD in biostatistics from Virginia Commonwealth University on the Medical College of Virginia campus.

Without question, there were times I wanted to give up. However, giving up was not a viable option. My brother and I were taught to never quit and to see things through. As Isaac Newton wrote, “If I have seen further, it’s by standing on the shoulders of giants.” I’ m truly blessed to have had those giants in my life who saw fit to pour into me, and I am forever grateful.

I am proud to be a full professor at Norfolk State University (NSU) in the same department my father and brother earned their degrees. Their legacy gives me an even stronger sense of purpose at NSU. Each day, I educate and mentor students from all backgrounds, many being first-generation college students, and I know I am here “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:13–14).

As a tenured professor, I have received many awards and accolades, as well as funding from the National Science Foundation and other agencies. Still, I’m most proud of the relationships I have formed with the students and the impact I have made on their lives. I recognize what I do can help change the trajectory of my students’ lives for generations, and I don’t take it lightly. I work with my majors and introduce them to research in statistics and push them to further their education. I truly enjoy delivering math and statistics content in such a way that my students can understand. It makes my heart truly happy to see former students earn advanced degrees and become successful statisticians, data scientists, and epidemiologists.

I am most proud of raising my children and watching them grow into such outstanding individuals and being the wife of the most talented, hardest working, and smartest man on Earth. I am truly in awe every day of what God is doing in our lives!