Growing up in a tight-knit African-American community in Evansville, Indiana, Dr. Talitha Washington quickly understood the role that her race and racism would play in her life—always choosing to rise above it all. Amongst her Black cohort at Spelman College, Dr. Washington felt she was finally able to learn freely, and without the pressure of being the only Black student in the class. The mathematics scholar is now the Director of the Atlanta University Center (AUC) Data Science Initiative where she works with HBCUs to increase the number of minorities earning data science credentials and further develop science that advances social justice. Throughout her career as a Ph. D mathematician, she’s actively challenging the assumptions of who can succeed in mathematics, and how her perseverance in the field is shaping who can and should be contributing to science.