Freshman Convocation will be Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 12:30 p.m. in the L. Douglas Wilder Performing Arts Center
On Thursday, September 19, 2024 the University will pause to celebrate its rich past and its promising future as well as welcome the Class of 2028 with the Freshman Convocation. This year, the University will welcome the Class of 2028 with a live in-person Freshman Convocation Ceremony. The featured keynote speaker is NSU alumni, Dr. Korie Grayson ’12, Biomedical Engineer, Chemical Engineering Researcher
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Korie Grayson
Biomedical Engineer, Chemical Engineering Researcher, Public Speaker
As a first-generation college student, Dr. Grayson received a full-ride scholarship into the Dozoretz National Institute for Mathematics and Applied Sciences (DNIMAS) program at Norfolk State University, a historically black college or university (HBCU). In 2012, she graduated from NSU with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry: Pre-Med and eventually became employed with CryoLife, Inc., a biomedical device company. While at CryoLife, she worked as a Medical Device Associate assembling the HeRO® Graft (Hemodialysis Reliable Outflow), the only fully subcutaneous AV access solution clinically proven to maintain long-term access for hemodialysis patients with central venous stenosis. It was during that time that she decided to pursue graduate studies and was accepted into Cornell University’s Biomedical Engineering PhD program.
During her matriculation at Cornell, Dr. Grayson became the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Graduate Coordinator in the DPE Department at Cornell, a position designed to support the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students in engineering and also served as a Graduate Resident Fellow. She successfully defended her dissertation in 2020 and earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering. Additionally, she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Michigan in the Department of Chemical Engineering.
Dr. Grayson is passionate about increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in STEM. She is the Diversity Chair for Women Doing Science, an international movement to increase the visibility of women in science. She also serves on the planning council for STEMNoire, a holistic wellness and research retreat for Black women in STEM.
Dr. Grayson is a proud and active member of the Biomedical Engineering Society, National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Her desire is to continue to inspire and fight for the next generation of scientists and beyond.