2025 Student Innovation Ambassadors

As a dual studies graduate with a BS degree in Animal Science and a BS in Laboratory Animal Science with a minor in Chemistry at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. During her collegiate experience, Rycal had the opportunity to work as a Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) intern at Purdue University, work as an undergraduate Research Scholar, and travel to Washington as both a winner and participant in the USDA Agricultural Outlook Student Diversity Forum. In addition, Rycal furthered her studies in the spring of 2023 by completing her Masters in Food and Nutritional Science at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Her research focused on oleogels and oleogel emulsion delivery systems for probiotics. Currently Rycal works at Mother's Murphy's Laboratories, a food flavoring corporation in Greensboro, NC as a sample lab technician. Rycal’s awards include earning first place in the Fall 2021 College of Agriculture and Environmental Science (CAES) Research poster competition, and 2nd place in both the 1890 Association of Research Directors (ARD) 2022 research symposium oral presentation, the American Oil Chemists Society (AOCS) e-poster pitch competition, and the AAAS showcase 2022. Rycal is a Greensboro North Carolina resident where she is involved in various STEM and community organizations such as NSBE and IFT.   

As a Software Engineer at Netflix and co-founder of an EdTech startup dedicated to revolutionizing childhood education, Francis is deeply committed to leveraging technology for good. A strong advocate for giving back, he actively mentors aspiring engineers through prestigious programs like the Netflix Formation Program, Break Through Tech AI, and Code2040, believing in the profound impact of mentorship on the next generation of tech leaders.

During his undergraduate years at Philander Smith University, he gained significant recognition, including top honors in both local and national innovation competitions. His exceptional academic performance was consistently acknowledged with numerous national and university-level scholarships, and he actively participated in various tech-related programs. These experiences set the stage for impactful internships at Amazon and Meta, ultimately leading to his current role at Netflix.

Driven by a deep passion for solving pressing societal problems, he continuously seeks opportunities to drive meaningful impact in our communities.