User:Rwilso40/Annie Marie Watkins Garraway

Annie Marie Watkins Garraway
Annie Marie Watkins Garraway is an American mathematician born in Kansas, but mostly raised in Montgomery, Alabama. Her parents were Levi Watkins Sr. and Lillian Vernado. She received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Northwestern University after transferring from S.A. Owen Junior College, and she received her Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley. Annie Marie Watkins Garraway has three children: Dr. Levi “Alec” Garraway, Dr. Isla Garraway, and Dr. Doris Garraway.

Family Life
Annie Marie Watkins Garraway was raised with five siblings: James Watkins, Emma Pearl McDonald, Doristine L. Minott, Donald V. Watkins Sr., and Levi Watkins Jr. Her parents, Levi Watkins Sr. and Lillian Vernado were both devout Baptists and school teachers. Her father went on to be president of Alabama State College for over twenty years. Her family also served as community leaders for civil rights. Most notably, the Garraway family worked with Martin Luther King Jr, their pastor, to fight for African American rights. As part of the minority, her father was a degree-holding African American from the 1930s, something only one percent of the African American population had obtained. With this foundation, Annie Marie Watkins Garraway was taught the value of education, which she passed on to her three children. Her son, Dr. Levi Alec Garraway graduated from Harvard with his M.D. Ph.D. As of 2016, he was honored as Vice President of Global Oncology at Eli Lilly and Company. Her oldest daughter, Dr. Isla Garraway is a front running biomedical researcher focused on prostate cancer, likely motivated after her father’s passing due to prostate cancer. She received her M.D. Ph.D. from the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. Lastly, Dr. Doris Garraway has her bachelor's degree and Ph.D. in French language and literature from University of California Berkeley and Duke University respectively. After the loss of her brother, Levi Watkins Jr., Annie Marie Watkins Garraway dedicates herself to education. In her brother’s memory, she has created countless scholarships and grants with the intent to push her family’s objective to make education more accessible for minority groups.

Career and Education
Annie Marie Watkins Garraway graduated from Booker T. Washington High School. She then attended LeMoyne-Owen Junior College for her freshman year, later transferring to Northwestern University to pursue a degree in mathematics. Even though most of her family was focused in field of biology and education, she chose to pursue mathematics. She has said in an interview her pursuit of mathematics originated from a professor at LeMoyne-Owen College, Juanita Turner, mentioning the hours Turner put towards her education. Following this, she went on to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics from University of California, Berkeley. Annie Marie Watkins Garraway then went on to work for AT&T Labs, Lucent Technologies, and Bell Laboratories. She is primarily known for her work in telecommunications with Lucent Technologies. Her brother, Donald V. Watkins referred to her as one of the “human computers” responsible for paving the way for modern telecommunications.

Recognition and Generosity
After the passing of her brother Levi Watkins Jr., Garraway dedicated her time to helping shape future academics the same way her brother aspired to pave the way for African American physicians. On July 1st, 2019 at John Hopkins University of Medicine, Annie Marie Watkins Garraway was recognized for her 5-year pledge to the Levi Watkins Jr., MD, Endowed Scholarship Fund. This scholarship was created in 2008 by members of the Class of 1983 to respect her brother by support financially depraved students of color at John Hopkins School of Medicine. Inspired by the book and movie “Hidden Figures,” she also donated 25,000 dollars to LeMoyne-Owen College. She found the lead roles of Johnson, Vaughn, and Jackson to be inspirational to other mathematically driven female African Americans, reminding her of her former math instructor Juanita Turner. The result was a scholarship in Mrs. Turner’s memory dedicated for mathematics majors at LeMoyne-Owen College. She was also recognized by Ohio State University for her influence in the STEM field.