By his own admission, Dr. Damian Rouson’s initial adjustment from
Howard University to the graduate engineering program at Stanford
University was difficult.
“I think very few people don’t doubt their competence when they
come here,” Rouson says. “It is a big jump, no matter where you’re from
or who you are.”
Engineering School Dean John Hennessy agrees, describing the
Stanford experience as a “culture shock” for most students,
irrespective of race or gender.
“We try to catch students before they feel they have to drop out,” he says.
While Rouson’s situation never became that grave, the recent
doctoral graduate credits his advisor, Dr. John Eaton, with helping him
to recover from a disillusioning start.
“My first quarter, I had all these lofty notions of these great
classes I was going to take,” Rouson says. “There was all kinds of
material that I was interested in, but which I had no previous exposure
to.”
Eaton recognized his student’s ability and ambition early on, but
knew that in order for Rouson to succeed, he would have to crawl before
he ran.
