Sibrina Speaks

The lights finally went dark at Quicken Loans Arena (The Q) in Cleveland, Ohio and the audience started screaming. Jill Scott came to the stage wearing retro Gazelle glasses, a black top and pants with a belt buckle that simply reads "Jill." Her backup singers were three brothers known as "The Pipes" that were dressed in all black and wearing retro shell toe Adidas shoes and Gazelle glasses. The band started playing "Gimme" and Jill started singing. Jilly from Philly sang many of my favorites including "Cross My Mind" and ended her set with "Golden." Let me tell you--Jill puts on a show! Now, Maxwell kept us waiting for about an hour. My friends and I were not too happy about that. But, all was completely forgiven when he hit the stage. Dressed in a vintage gray suit that the late Sam Cooke would certainly wear, he started singing "Sumthin, Sumthin." (He performed the slower version too.) Yes, all was forgiven. He finally s...

Recently, I gave a brief talk at my Alma Mater, Wayne State University(WSU). I was the featured speaker for the Honors Convocation in the Department of Chemistry. I was truly honored to be given an opportunity to discuss my career in the chemical sciences, but more importantly how my WSU education made an impact on my career path. My take home message for the students is that I just wanted them to realize that a degree in chemistry can open so many doors. Sadly, too many young people don't realize that a career in science can be very rewarding. I have given presentations like this in the past, but I was more nervous because my grandmother and mother were in the audience. This was the first time I had ever given a presentation while they were in attendance. Well, the talk went very well, and many students and faculty told me they enjoyed the talk and they found it inspiring. One student wanted to take a picture with me! Anyway, after chatting with a few students, I went over to...