We had the good fortune of connecting with Ruha Tacey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ruha, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Engineering is one of the most secure paths to transforming your personal wealth from poverty in childhood to affluence in adulthood. I was lucky enough to get all the best advice for pursuing engineering as a teen because of the people who surrounded me and my family when I was young. What I do now is spread all that advice and more for free on my channel, so all the brightest future engineers without the established social networks in STEM can make great decisions for their careers as early as possible. Beyond that, I make sure students keep going, because dropping out is one of the worst financial decisions students can make.

What should our readers know about your business?
I like to combine my knack for humor with my passion for good, researched information and put together highly entertaining content that draws people in and educates them at the same time. My favorite thing is when an old friend will reach out and say that a friend of theirs just shared one of my videos with them, not knowing that they know me. I’ve just hit 100,000 followers across Tiktok and Instagram after only doing this for a year and a half. That really says something about the desire for quality engineering education among students. Last year I released an online course for students to learn all the skills to be top engineering students, and after seeing a major need from students of all backgrounds, this month I released my first book, Effective Studying for Engineers. I know what my followers need because I read dozens of DM’s a day and respond individually to each one. This business is about listening, and I make sure to treat each student like my own kid and give them not only advice but also support and encouragement. Because if they’re willing to work for it, then they’re smart enough for engineering. That’s something a lot of students don’t hear from the important people in their life.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We’d start with indonesian coffee and pastries at Kopi Bar before taking a stroll in the glorious breezy sun at Civic park and the Iron Horse Trail. The library is worth checking out, and then we’d eat lunch at Rooftop after stopping to see the koi fish on Locust St. An afternoon hike in the redwoods comes next, and you know we have to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, that’s a no brainer. Wave at Alcatraz and the street trolleys before driving back to Walnut Creek (because this Alabama native is not a city girl).
Next day I’ll take you to Ikea – Who doesn’t love Ikea?? We’ll eat Swedish meatballs at the cafeteria for lunch, and spend the afternoon hitting up all the Oppenheimer locations in Berkeley.
We could have dinner at the Clairemont if I remember to make a reservation, get some beautiful selfies at sunset on the balcony, and then head home. Waking up bright and early on the last day, I’m making crepes for breakfast before a little day trip to Napa Valley. There’s a castle, did you know that? Castello di Amorosa. We’ll get food at Azzurro when we get hungry. If we have time, I’ll even take you to the Jelly Belly Factory. Pomegranate is my favorite flavor, but I prefer Albanese gummy bears.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I dedicate my shoutout to my high school alma mater. All of my math skills, my video creation skills, all the best people I know in life, my husband, financial know-how, and all the confidence I bring to the things I try in life, are all due to the publicly funded, residential education I received at the the Alabama School of Math and Science.

Website: www.futurecheme.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurecheme

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruha-tacey

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FutureChemE

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@futurecheme

Image Credits
Humberto Arciniega

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