Teayanna Leytham

Teayanna Leytham is a junior studying chemical engineering. She is from Council Bluffs, Iowa where she has lived all her life. Being in one place for eighteen years left her curious about and excited to see what lay beyond her county lines. The first time she went abroad was with the AnBryce Foundation her freshmen year. She fell in love with Ireland and being a global citizen. This first trip overseas catalyzed Teayanna’s explorations. The summer after Ireland, Teayanna spent six weeks in Rome, Italy studying through Notre Dame. She then spent three weeks in Glasgow, Scotland as a Fulbright US-UK recipient. The next summer, she spent ten weeks in Washington D.C. working at her summer internship for Booz Allen Hamilton in their Summer Games. Coming back full circle, Teayanna is currently finishing her semester abroad in Dublin, Ireland at University College Dublin. She received the Gilman Scholarship to help her do so. For Teayanna, being abroad has been like developing a friendship from scratch with each place she has been in. She thanks Notre Dame, all the staff and faculty, AnBryce, and her family for their support.

Teayanna is ambitious, loves to learn, and seeks to make others laugh whenever she can. She is passionate about creativity, social justice, and being supportive of the passions of others.

Teayanna enjoys sharing her passions and is an active member of the community on campus at Notre Dame as well as UCD. She has been on TroopND (a hip hop and jazz dance team) for three years, choreographing at least one piece for the team each year. Upon her return to Notre Dame in the spring semester, she will assume her position as the club’s treasurer. During her semester abroad, Teayanna continued to share her love of dance by joining the UCD Dance Society. In the society, she expanded her knowledge of dance vastly, got to develop her leadership skills by teaching multiple classes, and increased her confidence through several opportunities to perform and compete. “Dance has been a top three highlight of my time here because it has allowed me to grow as a person and dancer, while giving me an opportunity to meet amazing people who love dance just as much as I do.” Additionally, Teayanna has been a member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) for two years and will assume the position of Vice President in the spring. Having had dutiful examples of past leadership, she is excited to make a collective positive and innovative mark on the program with the society’s other board members.

Going forward, Teayanna hopes to increase her experience in academic research during her junior and senior years. Upon graduation from Notre Dame, Teayanna aims to complete a Ph.D. in chemical engineering or materials science. She hopes to work in a field focusing on sustainable, commercial innovation, although she is not quite sure what that will be yet

Activities

• Leader, Dance Troupe

Internships/Summer Programs

• Fulbright Summer Institute Fellow (Scotland)
• Engineering Study Abroad (Rome)
• Booz Allen Hamilton Summer Games (DC)
• Dairy Management, Inc (reflection)

Study Abroad

• Ireland