Erika Duncan

Securing the Bag with Math

"My number one tip is to read your math book. Don't just look at the problems, because [most of the time] there are examples of the type of problems your teacher assigned already done in the book."

Quick Facts

Featured in: Secure The Bag III (January 2021)

Credentials: 

  • B.S. in Mathematics at Hampton University – Office of the Naval Academy SEM (Science, Engineering, Mathematics) Scholarship
  • M.S. in Biostatistics at University of Michigan 
  • Certified Black Belt with Six Sigma


Interests: biostatistics

In our January 2021 – Secure The Bag III box, Erika Duncan describes how she literally marched into becoming a math major and the way math shows up in the real world, such as data! Data is used to tell stories, problems, and solutions. Having a background in math allows you to easily organize and summarize data to report useful results. As one of Erika’s teammates used to say, “SHE who knows the data wins”!

(During production, we learned that we are unable to disclose Erika’s current role and employer due to her company’s policy. But, she still has an AMAZING story.)

Black Girl MATHgic Exclusive Interview Preview

“What I realized is that I enjoyed studying math. I loved learning and then following the steps. As long as I understood the content and context, I usually ended up with the right answer.”

Check out our January 2021 – Secure The Bag III box to see Erika Duncan’s FULL interview!