Hadiyah-Nicole Green likens her story to that of The Little Engine That Could.
The 34-year-old assistant professor is the first in her family to go to college, let alone earn a doctorate. She’s also broken ground at her alma mater as the second African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. And by now, you’ve probably heard that Green is the recipient of a $1.1 million grant to develop a cancer treatment. This woman is on fire.
But despite her many accolades and recent celebrity—well, at least among black Americans—what stands out most is her humility and determination. She radiates a positive aura, even when discussing past adversity.
Over the phone, she beams.
“The lessons learned, the heartaches, the struggles. I know that I wouldn’t be where I’m at now if I hadn’t gone through those things,” says Green. No matter the difficulty, she counts her past experiences as blessings. “The process has been way too spiritual to make it purely academic,” she says.
Green spent seven years completing her master’s and doctorate at UAB, developing a way to target cancer cells. As a graduate student, she recalls seeing—and greeting—other black women in her department. Often they in were in support roles: secretaries, janitorial staff and lab technicians.
To say that graduate school for Green had its challenges would be an understatement. “The struggles were real,” says Green when recalling her path toward a doctorate.
Green remembers calling home in tears. But her family—biological and church—were strengthening. Her uncle, General Lee Smith, who, along with her aunt, Ora Lee, raised Green after the passing of her parents, often gave her pep talks. “This ain’t nothing for a sucker like you,” he said. The physicist’s “village” constantly affirmed her.
