Diversity Statement

Significance of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility

Diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) are integral to achieving academic excellence at any academic institution. My commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility aligns well with this philosophy. I believe that the academic environment can be unwelcoming, unfair, and inequitable because of not fitting into gender schema and ethnicity. Moreover, such settings restrict intellectual engagement and decrease productivity. Therefore, I am committed to making a difference in ensuring everyone is given opportunities to excel in their scholarly activities.

DEIA Promotion at the University of North Texas (UNT)

I worked as a teaching assistant and a researcher at UNT. UNT is one of the Hispanic and Minority Serving Institutions (HSI, MSI). UNT highly values diversity, equity, and inclusivity and spends much time, energy, and resources developing a common platform with equal opportunities. The university promotes cultural programs, international events, and multi-national advertisements through international student organizations. Pursuing my commitment to DEI, I served as a Vice-President for the UNT Bangladesh Student Association (BSA) organization, promoted our culture, and invited students from diversified ethnicity, gender, religion, and region to experience our traditions. During this time, I arranged events and encouraged women to participate in cultural programs. Moreover, I encouraged one of the women officers to manage and host events. I was also elected as the Senator of the College of Engineering for the Graduate Student Council (GSC), a graduate student body for graduate student representation, to serve a diverse group of graduate students. I enjoyed working with student senators and executive officers of diverse racial, ethnic, gender, and ability backgrounds. It was an honor to work under the supervision of two female presidents. Additionally, I had a wonderful experience working with sundry students while pursuing my doctoral degree. I worked with students from the United States, Nigeria, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Turkey. Currently, I am supervising two female graduate students to develop their research. I encourage them to present their work and improve the quality of the experiments to produce better results. Furthermore, I always strive to provide equal opportunities to students from different ethnicities at UNT. During my teaching assistantship tenure, I ensured that everyone was given equal attention and help for their academic success.