New Episode Alert! Teenage mother, Shipyard Pipe Fitter, and Army Veteran. You may refer to her as Santia Davis, Ph.D. Who knew that when I met Dr. Santia Davis on a bus in Japan, I would be in the presence of a woman who walks the walk and TALKS THAT TALK! Listen to Episode 8 for another great conversation as Dr. Davis exudes her spirit of determination while telling her heartfelt journey in becoming an Engineer.
Dr. Santia Davis grew up in downtown Portsmouth, Virginia to a family of two sisters and one brother, mother and stepfather. Life was rough, as both parents were caught up into drugs in the 90s. Dr. Davis became pregnant at 15 and gave birth in September of her junior year. She then went own to graduate the following year and did not have a clear path. She took a security job and while in that job decided to follow her dad's footsteps working for the shipyard. After passing the apprenticeship test with flying colors Dr. Davis went into the Pipe Shop to be a pipefitter. Life would then take Dr. Davis away from Virginia due to enlistment in the Army. While away, her brother was federally indicted and received a sentence of 36 years.
Shortly after, she returned home to start her career at Northrop Grumman as a Mechanical Designer (Drafter) and educational journey at the community college - AS in CADD, transferring to ODU to complete a BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology and later a MEM - Masters of Engineering Management. After receiving her BS, she was promoted to Mechanical Engineer for HM&E - shipboard. Dr. Davis moved on from Northrop Grumman to CDI Marine before ending up at Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) as facilities engineer. At NAVFAC Dr. Davis held several titles, Mechanical Engineer, Spec Writer, Infrastructure Engineer, Safety and Process Improvement Supervisor, Commodity Manager and Logistic Supply Specialist. Working with NAVFAC allowed her to travel to places she never thought she would see.
Currently Dr. Davis works for the Department of State and the Capital Region Facilities Branch Chief.
