Auburn Engineering Ph.D. student honored with Southern Regional Education Board fellowship

Computer science and software engineering doctoral student Alexicia Richardson has been awarded the prestigious Doctoral Scholar Fellowship Award from the Southern Regional Education Board. 

The program provides multiple avenues of support for recipients, such as financial assistance, research funding and career counseling. The goal of the program is to assist minority doctoral students that are seeking careers as faculty on college campuses. Since its founding in 1993, the program has supported more than 1,550 scholars. 

Richardson said she felt honored to be recognized for her work. 

“Once I received the fellowship, I felt excited about the opportunity to pursue my dreams and goals of developing, designing and implementing software that has the potential to transform lives,” Richardson said. 

A native of Monroeville, Alabama, Richardson is already bettering people’s lives. Through her research in software applications and big data, Richardson is developing a system that will provide better health care options to women and children in Opelika. Winning this fellowship has enhanced her belief in herself and in helping others, she said. 

“Because of this fellowship, I get a chance to network with other computing professionals throughout the country and world, and that makes me feel honored,” Richardson said. 

SREB offers scholars such as Richardson the chance to network and develop professionally throughout the year, with mentoring and advocacy being a crucial aspect of the program. 

“Being able to complete a goal of mine of obtaining a Ph.D. in computer science and software engineering is important to me, and SREB is helping me achieve this by putting me in contact with other like-minded people,” Richardson said.