About

Who am I?

Fantasi was born in Jackson, MS and raised in Starkville and Noxubee County, MS.  She was raised in a low socioeconomic household with very supportive family, friends, educators, and church members who encouraged her to excel in all areas of life. After telling her mother that she wanted to go to college to be an administrative assistant, her high school counselor signed her up for an introduction to engineering summer camp at Mississippi State University (MSU).  This was her first introduction to engineering, and she fell in love with the industrial engineering major.  She completed a senior project on the effects of driver distraction and participated in the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation Engineering Summer Bridge Program at MSU. 

She went on to complete her Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering at MSU and received the GEM Full MS Fellowship to pursue her Master of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Auburn University (AU).  While completing her MS, she interned with Ford Motor Company (Ford) as a Manufacturing Engineer in Final Assembly Engineering and Stamping Engineering. Upon completion of the degree, she worked full time for Ford as a Manufacturing Engineer in Stamping Engineering.  Recognizing the lack of employee diversity and inclusive practices, Fantasi made the decision to leave industry and pursue her PhD in Engineering Education to do research on ways that we can bridge the gap by combatting systems of oppression and non-inclusive cultural practices. 

Fantasi is a plus size model who enjoys traveling, writing poetry and short stories, reading self-improvement books, working out, and dancing.  She is an active member of her sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated., and participates in a lot of social, community, and volunteer events with other sorority members.  She is also an active member of the HeadsUp Mentoring Program (HeadsUp), National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE), where she serves as the team lead for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 100 Workshop during the 2020 ASEE Convention.

Fantasi’s overall goal is to impact the world by inspiring people of color to understand their value and worth, invest in their overall development, and achieve their dreams.  In terms of specific education interests, she aims to increase the number of underrepresented minorities that pursue higher degrees in engineering and obtain leadership positions in organizations that will allow for the changing of policies and procedures that continue to oppress marginalized groups.

Professional CV

Research Interest lie in:

• Broadening participation in the engineering ecosystem for racially minoritized graduate students and early career employees in engineering

• Professional development of engineers within the engineering ecosystem, diversity and inclusion through means of combating systems of oppression

Awards and Honors:

• Ford Recognition Award, January 2019

• GEM Masters Fellow, Fall 2016 – December 2017

Professional Experience:

• Full Time:

  (Manufacturing Engineer, Ford Motor Company, 2018-2019)

• Internships:

  (Launch Engineer, Ford Motor Company, Summer 2017)

  (Launch Engineer, Ford Motor Company, Summer 2016)

  (Manufacturing Engineer, ThyssenKrupp Elevators, Summer 2015)

• Teaching/Research:

  (Graduate Research Assistant, Purdue University, 2019)

  (Graduate Teaching Assistant, Auburn University, 2016-2017)

  (Noyce STEM Teacher Scholar, Mississippi State University, Summer 2011)

Education:

• PhD Engineering Education, Purdue University, 2019 – Current

• MS Industrial and Systems Engineering Auburn University, 2017

• BS Industrial and Systems Engineering, Mississippi State University, 2016

• (Minor: Mathematics, Business Administration, Psychology, Mississippi State University, 2016)

  (Certification: Engineering Entrepreneurship, Mississippi State University, 2016)

Current research in the lab:

• Freeform Data Processing

• Social Network Analysis

• Mechanical Engineering Leadership Development Program

• Faculty Development (Ghana)

• NSF Broadening Participation in Engineering Grant