Aggies Do! From Student to the First Woman to Lead NC A&T’s College of Engineering

Episode 249 | Guest: Dr. Stephanie Luster-Teasley Pass | Host: Dr. James Bryant

What does it take to become the first person in your own story to walk through a door you once only saw in photographs? Dr. Stephanie Luster-Teasley Pass, Dean of the College of Engineering at North Carolina A&T State University and the first woman to hold that role, joins Dr. James Bryant to share her journey from A&T student, through grad school and industry, to leading the college she once studied in.

Together they explore what it means to balance career, family, and identity as a woman in engineering; how support “teams” and community make hard seasons survivable; and why A&T’s growth in AI, new programs, and industry partnerships matters for the next generation of engineers. This conversation is about the courage to say yes to opportunities you didn’t go looking for—and what it means to return to lead the place that helped shape who you are.

• Real leadership often begins with someone else asking you a hard question you weren’t planning to answer.
• Saying no to leadership once doesn’t mean you’re not meant for it — sometimes the “no” is just the first draft of your answer.
• Leading a college means learning to think in multiples — multiplying your focus across every department, not just the one you know best.
• The hardest part of a technical career is rarely the technical work — it’s carrying your whole life without letting any one part of it suffer.
• You don’t have to be strong in every area to lead well. Build a team of people you can lean on for the areas where you’re not.
• Representation isn’t abstract — it shows up in something as simple as a student recognizing themselves in the person leading them.
• Preparing students for today’s workforce means preparing them to work with AI, not around it.
• Growing an organization requires balancing what’s urgent for individual departments with what’s best for the whole.
• Investing in someone else doesn’t require a title or a formal reason — it requires proximity, relationship, and the willingness to ask the question that matters.

• 00:00 — Welcome & Aggie Pride
• 01:16 — From A&T Student to First Woman Dean
• 03:16 — Grad School, Industry, and Returning to A&T
• 07:41 — Career, Family, and Your Support Team
• 10:13 — A&T Today: AI, New Programs, and Industry Partnerships
• 16:14 — STEM Pipeline, Aggie Academy, and Whole-Student Support
• 22:32 — Mic Flip & Coach in Your Corner

Dr. Stephanie Luster-Teasley Pass is Dean of the College of Engineering at North Carolina A&T State University and the first woman to hold that role in the college’s history. A proud A&T graduate in chemical engineering, she has served on the university’s faculty for 22 years, including four and a half years as department chair of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering before her appointment as dean. Her academic background includes a master’s and Ph.D. from Michigan State University in chemical and environmental engineering, along with a patented water remediation technology developed during her time as faculty. Today she leads seven departments and nearly 2,800 students, with a focus on industry partnerships, student success, and preparing the next generation of engineers for an AI-driven workforce.

Learn more at www.ncat.edu/coe

Dr. James Bryant is an executive coach, leadership strategist, and host of the Engineer Your Success podcast. His mission is to help professionals win at work and at home by developing the leadership skills and presence that technical training alone does not provide.

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