February is Black History Month, an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements and contributions of Black Canadians and their communities, who have been a part of shaping Canada’s heritage and identity. Throughout February we will be highlighting and sharing the stories of Black staff, students, members of our Board of Governors as well as alumni. Stay tuned to the Diversity blog and RRC Polytech’s social media to learn more about members of our College community.

Tanya Hansen Pratt, CET, Instructor, Mechanical Engineering Technology at RRC Polytech

I began working as an instructor at RRC Polytech in the Mechanical Engineering Technology program in 2021, the same program I graduated from many years ago. I have worked in the HVAC industry for over 20 years, initially in technical sales, then I transitioned into application engineering, design engineering, technical writing and marketing. This industry experience eventually brought me full circle back to where my career as a technologist began.

As an engineering technologist, I’ve always worked in male-dominated spaces with very little diversity. I spent many years of my career before coming to RRC Polytech being the only woman and only person of colour in my department. My lived experience has always been vastly different from that of my coworkers. I am reminded daily of my female-blackness, whereas their male-whiteness rarely crosses their minds. Microagressions, sexism, and racism have been common occurrences in my life, so I’ve learned to navigate the world as a person who is constantly othered.

Representation makes all the difference to someone like me. It’s so much easier to walk in a space when I know I’m not going to be stared at or judged: I can just be myself. I once combed out my locs and straightened my hair for a job interview because I knew my natural hair might be frowned upon in a conservative engineering department. I did get the job and when I put my locs back in (when my probation period was over), another black woman who worked there told me she loved my hair and decided to stop straightening her hair and wear it naturally, too! Representation matters.

In some small ways, I think I’ve turned my life experience into an advantage. I can read a room instantly and I’m quick to read facial expressions and body language. I’m used to working hard because people often underestimate me. I recently attended an event and, as often happens during introductions and small talk, we began discussing what we did for a living. I was asked by a gentleman at the table how I managed to get a job as an instructor. He was absolutely convinced that I couldn’t have been qualified and must have been used to fill a quota. He repeated his beliefs to me in front of several others who remained silent throughout the conversation. He made assumptions about me based on the colour of my skin, and the people at the table remained silent – and complicit. Being underestimated makes me dig in my heels and work hard to prove them wrong.

As an instructor, I hope my presence as a woman of colour does two things: First, I hope I can add to the diversity of thought and experience among the staff at the college to provide the best possible education for our increasingly diverse student body. Secondly, I hope my presence gives our students permission to be their authentic selves. There is someone out there, maybe in my classroom or maybe someone thinking about attending RRC Polytech, that sees me and sees a little bit of themselves, and it helps them stand taller and stronger knowing that someone else has walked the path in front of them and made it a little safer to follow along exactly as they are.