Tiger Heritage Spotlight: Luticha André Doucette BS ’14
Luticha André Doucette BS ’14 graduated from RIT with a degree in bioinformatics, where she developed protein surface prediction algorithms. After graduating, she was a fellow at the University of Rochester where she worked in a genomics lab that focused on analyzing the venom of parasitoid wasps to develop new drug therapies for various diseases. In 2017 she authored a report on wage disparities across race, gender, and disability in Rochester and Monroe County in conjunction with the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative and in 2018 authored a follow-up report on employment barriers for disabled people in Rochester and Monroe County. She is a graduate of the Leadership and Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) Fellowship program and an AUCD Emerging Leader. She is the owner of Catalyst Consulting, which helps organizations examine equity across race, gender identity, and disability in policies, practices, procedures, and relationships.
We sat down with Luticha to learn more about her and her unique career path.
What led you to RIT?
I came to RIT due to a suggestion that I had from someone that I was dating at the time. I was feeling depressed as I had been at Drexel University and it was not a positive experience for me. I doubted that I was going to be able to go back to school and get the education that I had so desperately wanted.
Who influenced you most during your time at RIT?
Shout out to Dr. Paul Craig, Dr. Robert Osgood, Dr. Elizabeth Perry, and Dr. Eileen Tubbs for always encouraging me, believing in me, and helping me to get where I am today.
What advice do you have for current students who want to make the most out of their experience at RIT?
Try to take classes that are outside of your discipline. College is a time to explore and learn. And for me the bulk of my learning happened outside of the classroom. It's not that grades aren't important, but how well you know and understand the content and can apply it to various situations is equally as important. Also, you need to work on being the type of individual that folks want to work with. This doesn't mean that you have to be some sort of extrovert, but in the time of COVID people are recognizing what's important to them, what actually is effective for teams to work together, and nobody wants to risk a deadly virus for someone who is a jerk. You also have to be understanding of folks who are different from you whether it be they have a disability or come from some sort of other background, such as nationality, race, class or LGBTQ status. Be a lover of actual critical thinking, exploration, and learning and you'll go far in life.
Describe your career path.
How much y'all have space for my career path? So graduating with my major in bioinformatics and after going nearly a year with no job prospects, I then applied for a job at the University of Rochester in a genomics lab. However, I realized that that doctoral track and that kind of grind was not congruent with the health issues that I had at the time or my values. I had a very real fear of trying to find a space where I fit. I got really lucky with Dr. Craig at RIT that his lab was one where you could explore and get honest feedback. It was this genuinely loving, kind, and caring space, which also challenged you to see yourself better. He fully believed in the potential of his students and it was hard to find that same type of environment in the “outside world.” And, too, there were many factors that impacted my transition to the city of Rochester. I felt a struggle of finding where I fit, determining my values and what kind of work I wanted to be doing, and then how that work impacts the world and the decisions that I make. Also, determining if I have that ability to delegate that work or the things that shouldn't really be my focus, but are still important to do. After bouncing around to several different areas, I made the decision to be my own business owner. Scariest decision of my life, but the best decision I have ever made.
What is your greatest professional accomplishment?
Choosing my own path and deciding to be a business owner is probably my greatest professional accomplishment. For many people, especially for those who are disabled, self-determination is something that I have always strove for, but never really had until now. As a business owner, you have to set standards. You also have to face every insecurity, doubt, flaw, and strive to not be the thing that holds you back. You must believe in yourself just like others have believed in you and do what needs to get done. Not all money is my money, not all clients and businesses are my clients, and then I hope that when conflict arises that we are able to work through them in ways that are effective, as well as productive. I am not for everyone but that is what makes me extremely unique.
Why is Black History Month important to you?
Black history is American history and is relevant for every month of the year, not just in February. I am Black 24/7, 365 days out of the year. Furthermore, there's rarely inclusion of disabled Black folk or queer Black folk so often we just go unseen. I also may be a bit salty the Black History Month gets to be the shortest month of the year. I know it's a trite joke, but you know there it is. We need actual change in this country.
I really hope in this day and age that people only use Black History Month as some sort of launchpad to look at how they have moved in this world differently. That we move from just reading books to learn about black history, to actually implementing and doing what is necessary in order to move this country in the way that it needs to be moved. Is you ’bout it, ’bout it or nah?
What is a fun fact about you?
I love to fence and you should join my club and fence with me at Ludus Fencing Studio!