The Sway | March 2025

Bison Trailblazers | Christian O. Díaz Cáez

by Anna De Cheke Qualls | Aguas Buenas is a small city of about 24,000 in Puerto Rico’s Central Mountain Range. Its name “good waters” comes from the rivers and natural springs that run through the area.  The city, built on coffee plantations and production, has its own patron saint, festival, flag and amateur baseball team. The regional anthem speaks of people with Raíces firmes que en el pecho laten (“firm roots that beat in the chest”). 

Howard doctoral alum Christian O. Díaz Cáez is un hombre con raíces firmes -- an unwavering spirit that rises and rises. Now a radar imagery scientist with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), Díaz Cáez’s passion for science, research and outreach took shape here from an early age, thanks to his family and mentors along the way. 

Word to the Wise | Dr. Dwayne Dixon

By India Crowe | Each day, there was a new problem to be solved, and each car ride was nothing short of a lesson, whether moral or mathematical. Dr. Dewayne Dixon’s trips with his grandmother became a vehicle for learning, and connecting numbers to real-life problems. Each discussion was both challenging and inspirational. From a little boy solving mathematical operations in the backseat to a professor demonstrating solutions in his own classroom at Hampton University, Dixon aims to model that same joy of learning to all.

Bison Trailblazers | Donald Long

by Anna De Cheke Qualls | Donald Long is not one to shy away from a challenge. Concurrent to his PhD work in Atmospheric Sciences, Long teaches full-time in Baltimore City’s Graceland Park/O'Donnell Heights Elementary Middle School. He is as passionate about weather as about education.

By day, Long preps for classes, corrects assignments, engages with colleagues and parents. By night he is a doctoral student advancing his own research and working on plans to establish a middle school science program at the Howard University's Beltsville Research Campus.

“I never thought I would be a teacher, but after doing some tutoring in undergrad and grad school, some TA work, and a lot of K-12 outreach as a student intern at the National Weather Service, it sort of hit me one day. So I decided to apply, try it out. I have loved it though it is incredibly hard work every day,” says Long. 

Word to the Wise | Miriam Hagan

by India Crowe | Miriam Hagan’s first taste of laboratory work began in her mother’s kitchen. Meticulously peeling onions, unwrapping bouillon cubes, and handing over pots were her main assignments, all while watching her mother’s precise movements. As Hagan increased in skill, her mother increased the difficulty of her tasks until she had to prepare a meal for the toughest critic yet: her father. Hagan recognized this as an opportunity to experiment, fusing her fresh creativity with the nostalgic Nigerian traditions of her grandmother’s recipes. From plating to flavor, the meal met her father’s high standards and established Hagan’s standards for excellence, creativity, and nutrition.