SHREVEPORT, La. – Aaliyah Tasby didn’t think college was for her.
A 2021 graduate of C.E. Byrd High, Tasby lost her brother Charles in a car wreck three days before her graduation, and she decided to work at a car dealership “until she figured out her life.”
But Tasby saw a sign for Bossier Parish Community College one day that August, noticing a new semester started in a couple of days.
“I went on my lunch break, learned that my school would be covered through financial aid, and I signed up for classes,” Tasby said. “People kept telling me that I was smart and that I shouldn’t waste my potential. But I didn’t want to go to college at all. I thought college was a scam at one point – not going to lie.”
Fast forward to 2025, and Tasby is one semester away from a computer science degree at LSUS.
Her path to a degree was anything but straight and narrow, but she’s leveraged her outgoing personality – not common in the computer science field – to be a student leader in the LSUS computer science department.
She started a chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) at LSUS and is a vice president for the Extraordinary Women of Computer Science with a goal of making the path for other black students and other women easier in the field.
Why computer science?
Tasby’s choice of computer science wasn’t random.
Computer science was a hot topic on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down the country and most of the world in 2020.
A long-time member of Greenwood Acres Full Gospel Baptist Church, Tasby leaned on the family of current pastor Reginald Dodd, particularly wife Murdis and son Adam.
“Adam is a mechanical engineer who went to Louisiana Tech and was part of NSBE, saying that this connection led him to his job,” said Tasby, who referenced the family’s background in education as a driving force of their influence. “He said if he had to do it all over again, he’d choose either electrical engineering or computer science because of the future of those industries. He’s also married to a fellow engineer Ayanna, who has been an incredible mentor and a big-sister figure. But it was Mrs. Murdis who really convinced me to go to college, having a three-hour phone conversation with me about my potential.”
Tasby evaluated her program options, taking note that both BPCC and LSUS had computer science departments.
“Computer science was booming, and I chose it initially for the financial gain and job security,” Tasby said.
Rough start
Tasby’s start at BPCC was far from ideal.
A 1.2 GPA, three failed classes, and loss of her financial aid would have been enough to sink most students who were already on the fence about attending college.
“I failed miserably my first semester,” Tasby said. “But there was a chemistry professor Danny Hoston who said he saw a lot of himself in me, and told me that if I dropped, he’d go right to the office and enroll me again. The process of getting financial aid back is awful, and I told myself that I’d never be on academic probation again. I was going to stick with it, I wasn’t going to quit or fail and waste this time.”
Tasby did bounce back, retaking a Python coding class and college algebra with an A and a B, respectively.
She progressed through BPCC’s curriculum, entering LSUS in Fall 2022 ready to pursue the software development concentration in computer science.
Blossoming at LSUS
Tasby’s arrival at LSUS didn’t signal an end to all her challenges and obstacles.
Advanced math classes kept coming, but she had established a knowledge base in math and computer science to navigate her way through rigorous courses.
While the lure of a lucrative career steered Tasby toward computer science, she said LSUS professors and the computer science community have sharpened her interest in the field.
“When you don’t come from money or that financial security, you’re looking for a better quality of life,” said Tasby, who added that her parents have been supportive of her surpassing their own college journeys. “I took a discrete math class, and I actually understood what was going on as I’m building the projects. Computer science has grown on me. I didn’t like it at first, and I was just holding on my freshman and sophomore years. Now I see a future.”
Tasby had additional support from a software engineer mentor who tutored her for nearly three years, explaining complex computer science topics and “helped me think like an engineer.”
“The lessons I learned from this friendship were a huge part of my survival in this major,” Tasby said.
She took that newfound knowledge and confidence to attend the NSBE national conference in Atlanta this past spring. Tasby found herself alone in a sea of 20,000 college and professional engineers with major companies like Apple and Meta recruiting talent.
“It was horrifying being in a new city by yourself, and I found out quickly that this is serious business,” Tasby said. “I met someone from LSU’s chapter, and they adopted me into their group for the conference. They suggested that I start a chapter at LSUS. I had no idea that was an option, and I didn’t know the steps. But it’s something I wanted to do to make it easier on the students who come after me.”
Tasby, who had already secured a summer internship with General Dynamics Information Technology before attending the conference, learned how valuable experience at the company would be after seeing them on the national stage.
The willingness to put herself out there, and her vivacious personality, landed her leadership opportunities and honors at regional NSBE conferences this fall.
She served as the logistics coordinator at the Region V conference in Lafayette and was awarded Newcomer of the Year and Most Outstanding Chapter Executive Board Member at a regional St. Louis conference.
“Aaliyah has been instrumental in the formation of the NSBE chapter at LSUS,” said Richard Watson, computer science department chair and chapter advisor. “She did all the groundwork and has generated a lot of student interest on campus. It’s beneficial to see someone who looks like you that’s successful in computer science or any field, but particularly in technical science roles. Students who are active on campus tend to do better all around – they tend to try harder and ask questions when they don’t know the answer.”
Tasby is working toward a full charter for the LSUS chapter, but she has her eye on the national conference this spring.
She wants to be able to take the entire organization to Chicago to benefit from the networking and education at the 2025 conference.
“Seeing people who like you in your field gives you hope for the future,” Tasby said. “There is a stereotype about the black community, but we’re so much more than that. I saw examples at the conference and then people like the first family at my church, whom I’ve communicated with a lot. Seeing someone who came from the same city and looked like me is so important.”
Tasby is raising funds for the LSUS chapter to attend the conference, attempting to offset as much of the cost as possible. For more information, reach out to Tasby via email at [email protected].
Computer science is about 80% male, and Watson said it’s not uncommon to have just one or two females in a particular class.
Tasby embarked on a mission to befriend fellow women in her classes, inviting them to join Extraordinary Women in Computer Science, which functions as a social organization to develop connections among women.
“I like interacting with human beings, so it’s easy for me to approach somebody and ask if they want to get lunch or study together,” Tasby said. “I’ve brought people to our (EWOCS) meetings, and they’d say thanks for making them to come to something like this because they didn’t know it existed. If I can be a space of comfort for other girls in computer science, I would love that.”
The future
Just four classes stand between Tasby and a bachelor’s degree.
She’s achieved a 3.3 GPA over the previous two semesters with a heavy load of junior- and senior-level computer science courses.
Tasby is working on a senior capstone project in which her group is working through solutions for her eyelash extension business.
“The market is big for girls my age, and we have a lot of customers,” Tasby said. “We’re working on an app to keep track of customer information, which includes a loyalty program. I pitched the idea to my group, and they thought it was cool to work on a real-world project that can actually benefit customers and the business.”
Software development is a likely path for Tasby, but she’d love to enter a program in which she could try her hand in multiple computer science areas.
“There are rotational programs where you’d go from cybersecurity to app development – I would love to rotate around,” Tasby said. “A lot of people pick computer science so they don’t have to talk to humans. Computer science is a skill, but my passion is to connect with people. I want to do something that helps other people.”
On course toward a fulfilling career, Tasby said she couldn’t have imagined where her journey would have led if she didn’t register for college classes on her lunch break.
“I’ve had a great experience at LSUS,” Tasby said. “I didn’t expect to do things like start a national chapter of an organization. I went in at 18 not knowing anything, and now I’m on the Dean’s list. I would never have expected that. Of course I have areas I need to work on, but I do feel like I’m smart, intelligent, and a good leader. You really can stay close and go far like the LSUS motto says.”
TASBY AWARDS: Aaliyah Tasby received multiple awards at the Region V conference of the National Society of Black Engineers this past fall in St. Louis. She earned Newcomer of the Year and Most Outstanding Executive Board Member.
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