Roger Arliner Young

1899 – November 9, 1964

Dr. Young was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in zoology. She studied under Dr. They shared a mentor in Frank Rattray Lillie, a founder and first president of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. In the familiar surroundings of Chicago, Young had no trouble adjusting to the routine of coursework, which occupied her first semester. Rallied to Get Her Doctorate. Despite what had happened at Howard, Young still had allies, chief among them L.V. Heilbrunn, whom she had met through Woods Hole. Young enrolled at Howard University at twenty-seven, intending to major in music. After struggling through a biology course with African American biologist Ernest Everett Just, she changed her major to that subject, earning a B.S. in 1923. The reason why I think Roger Arlner Young is so significant is that even though so many people may have pushed her down and said things to her, she pushed through and got what she asked for in zoology. In my thoughts, she has inspired so many people in all different kinds of ways and Career paths like zoology, marine biology, and the maritime industry, which is just amazing to go out and change the world.

-Erick Vasquez, Senior