Janessa BENN Dukes ’09 recalls that amidst the empowering all-girls environment of The Ellis School, she and her classmates aimed to “conquer the world.” Janessa has been many things since then: a dedicated student, an accomplished engineer, an advocate for women and people of color in historically homogeneous spaces, a military spouse, and a devoted parent. Each role has given her a fresh perspective on life, and opportunities to grow through it, one phase at a time.

Cultivating her strengths
The transitional periods of life are the ones that allow you to grow the most, Janessa said. She had the opportunity to attend Ellis as a FAME scholar, and noted her appreciation for the donors who make this scholarship possible. She reflected on the teachers who helped her go from being a student who sometimes struggled with math and physics to one that other students came to for help. The confidence she gained led her to serve as a class representative, class president during her sophomore year, a Touring Tiger, and a member of the track and field and cross country teams.

“Having the space to talk to your teachers without any stress was the first awakening for me,” she said. “Our Algebra I teacher broke it down for me. She said, ‘Janessa, all you have to do is take it one step at a time, and once you learn the pattern, you can do anything.’”

She didn’t know it then, but that lesson would stick with her for the rest of her life. As a North Carolina A&T State University undergrad, she excelled as a three-sport, Division 1 athlete, deftly balancing challenging training schedules with a rigorous academic load. She persisted in the math and physics classes that informed her engineering degree, and led her to a career where she was inspired to be a changemaker. Advocating for women in the workplace Shifting from the all-girls environment of Ellis to the mostly-male environment of her college engineering classes was challenging; so was transitioning from North Carolina A&T—a historically Black university—into a workplace where there were very few people of color.

Upon graduation, Janessa accepted a role with the chemical company BASF. As a facilities manager at one of BASF’s larger plants in Texas, she ensured six different businesses had water, office space, adequate roads, and all the infrastructure they needed to meet their goals.

“It gave me a unique platform to talk to leaders at all levels, but at first, there was hardly anyone who looked like me in the plant who had an engineering degree,” Janessa said. “People often thought I was a secretary. There was another woman in our building who was Jamaican, and people would confuse us. I realized that while women of color may not be the typical thing people see in the plant, I have to creatively address it to make space for more women to come.”

Janessa reached out to other women of color who came to the site, especially entry-level employees, for regular check-ins and she also found support for herself. A female colleague introduced her to workplace affinity groups, and she soon became an active member of the women’s group, the African American group, the military veterans group, and the parents’ group.

Her commitment to creating a more inclusive workplace was especially impactful for new mothers. Janessa and her husband Jonathan, who serves as a chaplain in the U.S. Army, are the proud parents of four children: Camden (8), Langston (6), Morgan (5), and Jackson, whom they welcomed in 2024. Working while pregnant revealed assumptions many people make about working women who choose to become mothers; some colleagues assumed she would simply quit working. Additionally, the plant where she worked had no lactation rooms.

Janessa found herself leading the effort to construct spaces and build resources to support nursing mothers. The lack of infrastructure to support working parents can make it challenging to return to work, and she sought to reduce those challenges for herself and for future parents. She also learned to take advantage of the employee benefits many companies do offer, such as babysitting services she was able to use while she traveled to conferences with her children.

“Reimaging things and taking time out to think of creative solutions is part of growing,” she said. “And just because something doesn’t go with your ‘plan A’ doesn’t mean it’s not a success.”

Her own path, at her own pace
After 10 years of working in a field she loves, Janessa made the choice to take a career break and focus on herself and her family in November 2023. Her husband’s role has become more demanding, and she said it makes sense for her to stay home to be present with their children. She is also pursuing professional certificates she has long wanted to work toward.

“It’s really good to talk about change,” she said, noting that many women hesitate to do so, especially when that involves a career break. She believes people owe themselves “space for grace,” because if they don’t make room for change, they may be stuck doing something that is no longer fulfilling.

Janessa encourages all young women—whether they are considering a challenging new class at Ellis or about to embark on their college and career journeys—to take their time and embrace every season of change as an opportunity for growth and self-discovery.

“Who you think you are when you walk through those doors may not be who you are at the end,” she said. “Just being here, being present, doing something…that in itself is a victory.”

She is thrilled to see her Ellis’ classmates’ success, and hopes they’ve also taken time to pause, reflect on, and appreciate their achievements—whether that’s embarking on a fabulous career, meeting a personal goal, raising a beautiful family, or a little of everything.

“I hope they always come back to Ellis,” she said. “No matter what they’ve achieved, it’s incredible. We just want to connect and say we all made it. Your story needs to be shared!”