The minute she put on a lab coat for the first time, she knew.
This is what I want to do.
Korka Fall ’25G, a polymer science and engineering master’s student, can’t really remember a time when she didn’t love science and problem-solving and working with her hands. In part, her interests stemmed from her parents. Her father is a registered nurse and her mother works in public health, so she grew up steeped in the ethos of helping others. Today, she’s the one inspiring future generations through presentations about empowering women in STEM education that she recently delivered at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.
“I talked about a lot of things, but my main message was about the power of mentorship,” says Fall, who spoke twice in March at the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women as a youth ambassador for the African Hope Committee, a NYC-based nonprofit that assists immigrants. “If you have the right mentor, you can be successful in STEM. You just need to find one good person.”
For Fall, that one good person was her advisor from Drew University, where she majored in chemistry. Her organic chemistry professor saw not only Fall’s passion for being in the lab, but her insecurity, too.
“When I joined her lab, I felt really unsure about myself, but she took time with me and made me feel so comfortable, and eventually, she was actually encouraging me to mentor other students,” says Fall. “She saw that as I was gaining confidence, I could turn around and help other students build theirs, too.”
That same professor—Kimberly Choquette ’13 PhD, a Lehigh chemistry alum—encouraged Fall to apply to Lehigh where she eventually joined the Polymer Science and Engineering (PSE) Master’s Program. Last summer, Fall began working with the lab group led by Elsa Reichmanis, Professor and Carl Robert Anderson Chair in Chemical Engineering. She joined the team working on synthesizing polymers to enhance LEDs found in consumer products like TVs.
“I didn’t come to Elsa’s lab with a background in polymers,” Fall says, “but as a chemist, I was so interested in the work she and her students were doing, and I realized this wasn’t too far off from what I’m skilled at doing.”
In June, Fall will continue her work on polymers as a chemical engineering PhD student with Reichmanis as her advisor. It’s a big step that she’s getting mentally prepared for, and oddly enough, she’s tapping into her love of dance—ballet, contemporary, hip hop, and musical theater—to get into that headspace.
“As a dancer, I’m kind of scared of improv, and as a chemist, sometimes I’m scared of coming up with the next step because I don’t want to be wrong,” she says. “So it’s really about believing in myself as a dancer and a chemist, and believing that I can be creative and be right.”
That kind of positive affirmation was also part of Fall’s message to those who attended the talk she gave at the U.N. When asked to give advice to young girls and underrepresented people of color interested in STEM, she told them it was normal to have imposter syndrome—to feel discouraged and like you don’t belong. But if you believe in yourself, she told them, nothing can stop you. Look for that one good person to be your mentor. And remember your why. For Fall, the whys that motivate her range from her love of problem-solving and helping others to her commitment to showing other young women what’s possible.
“I’ve almost always been the only Black girl in my classes,” she says. “So representation really matters to me. I want to show other girls that they belong in—and can succeed in—STEM.”
Her message is resonating. She regularly gets requests on Instagram and LinkedIn from other students asking for advice. After Fall’s presentation at the U.N., a young woman came up to her. She was an undergraduate in psychology, but her true love had always been STEM. Fall’s words had reignited her fire.
“She asked if I could help her figure out how to change course into STEM,” says Fall. “I gave her my information, and told her I would love to help her. And it just felt amazing to be able to do that. It made me feel like I’m reaching the people I need to reach.”
—Story by Christine Fennessy
