May 10th 2024.
This upcoming Sunday will be a day of celebration for Rutgers director Tamiah Brevard-Rodriguez. Not only is it Mother's Day, but it also marks two major milestones in her life. She will be celebrating her first Mother's Day with her newborn son, Enzo, and she will also be graduating from her doctoral program. It's truly an incredible achievement for Brevard-Rodriguez, who had to overcome unexpected challenges along the way.
As reported by WAPT, Brevard-Rodriguez's son, Enzo, arrived a month earlier than his due date. This unexpected turn of events disrupted her original plan, which she had dubbed "Operation Dissertation Before Baby." Brevard-Rodriguez had hoped to defend her dissertation before giving birth, but her water broke at 2:15 a.m. on the very day she was scheduled to defend it. She recalls feeling physically prepared for her pregnancy, but mentally, her focus was on her dissertation. So when she went into labor, she was overwhelmed with emotions and anxiety.
Despite the unexpected circumstances, Brevard-Rodriguez managed to deliver her son safely in the front seat of her wife's Maserati while rushing to the hospital. She describes the experience as a blur, with her wife driving at 120 mph while she delivered Enzo in just three pushes. After the initial shock and adrenaline wore off, Brevard-Rodriguez remembers telling her wife to slow down and focus on getting them to the hospital safely. Miraculously, Enzo arrived healthy and happy, weighing 5 pounds and 12 ounces and measuring 19 inches long.
Rutgers University, where Brevard-Rodriguez serves as director of the Aresty undergraduate research center, recognized this extraordinary occasion. They shared a post on social media congratulating her on the delivery of her baby boy and her successful dissertation defense, all on the same day. Despite the challenges, Brevard-Rodriguez was determined to continue with her scheduled dissertation defense at 1 p.m. that day. With the support of her doula and her wife, she decided to go ahead with the defense, seeing it as a bold and powerful move.
Logging onto Zoom, Brevard-Rodriguez presented her dissertation to the Rutgers staff and faculty. Her research focused on the standards that Black college women face on historically white campuses. She shared that in her study, many Black girls expressed feeling pressure to always appear presentable, while their white peers could attend classes in pajamas or more casual attire. Brevard-Rodriguez's study sheds light on the struggles that Black women face in academic spaces and the need for more inclusivity and understanding.
Brevard-Rodriguez chose to keep her delivery a secret until after her successful defense to ensure the committee's impartiality. Her determination and perseverance paid off, and she is now a double alumna of Rutgers University, having earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from the institution as well. On this Mother's Day, Brevard-Rodriguez's story serves as a reminder of the strength and resilience of mothers and the power of determination in achieving our goals.
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