Lake Forest-Lake Bluff History Museum

As Midshipman 1st Class Sydney Barber was named the firstBlack female brigade commander for the United States Naval Academy in 2020. Barber,a 2017 graduate of Lake Forest High School, will graduate in 2021 from theNaval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. Buther accolades are not limited to her groundbreaking role as brigade commander.As a Harry S. Truman Scholarship finalist, Barber was recognized for hercommitment to public service and academic excellence.Barber moved to Lake Forest as a sophomore in high school.But she had been part of the Lake Forest community from first grade on, throughthe family’s attachments to Christ Church, while the family lived in HighlandPark. Barber credits much of her community involvement from her experiences inLake Forest and from the mission trips she participated in with Christ Church.

She explained, “Growing up in the northern suburbs, I wouldcompare myself with people around me and sometimes feel bad. It wasn’t until Iwent and saw people who had absolutely nothing in terms of material things, butwho were so full and so happy and were constantly wanting to serve others, thatI realized that happiness isn’t tied to material things.”Service was always top of mind in her thoughts about collegeand career. She didn’t picture herself as an engineer or scientist in highschool at all. She loved foreign policy and the mission trips with the church. Barber said, “It wasn’t until I got to the academy that Ifound a love for math and science. The subjects always came naturally for me.But they weren’t my favorites. But at the academy, there were a lot of opportunitiesto apply it through engineering in interesting ways.”At the Naval Academy, Barber gained extensive experience witha variety of applications of her skills, including at an internship with theDepartment of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

She volunteered with other undergraduate women from theAcademy at a local school in Annapolis. She recognized that there wereinequities in the school that were limiting those students’ access to highereducation. “I thought it was crazy that there was a great institution down theroad from this community, but because of the educational disparities in theircommunity, they don’t have the resources to come to the academy themselves,especially given the limited resources for their math and science education.”She and some of her track teammates decided to change that.They worked to combine their tutoring program with STEM-based projects,introducing fun activities that made science exciting. Barber explained that the goals were to“introduce them to some of the things we were doing. We wanted to show themthat there was more out there and give them positive role models, particularlyas African American females. These girls had probably had never seen people wholook like them, who are in the fields of math and science.” Barber also focused her efforts on developing legislativestrategies to address the education disparities in minority communities likethose that she was witnessing in Annapolis, work which fueled her selection asa Truman Scholar national finalist.

Along with the academic achievements and the leadershipskills, Barber is an accomplished athlete. Barber credits her experience on thehigh school track team with many of the opportunities she has had in college.She was a sprinter and middle-distance runner, making it to state her senioryear, the first year she ran. Her natural abilities allowed her to be a walk-onsprinter and hurdler for the Division 1 Navy Women’s Varsity Track and Fieldteam, where she lettered all three years of competing and holds an Academyrecord for the outdoor 4x400m relay. She gives a specific callout to the girlson her high school team for giving her the foundation of friendship and theconfidence to pursue big goals.She said that her experiences in Lake Forest helped herfocus and find a direction. “I realized what makes you happy and defines yourpurpose, it has to be more than your own success. It has to be about thesuccess of those around you and making the world a better place.”

“Lake Forest fostered in me a heart for service in me and alove for giving more to the world than I was getting out of it. No matter whatcareer path I pursue, I want to work in service in some way. I fell in lovewith the Academy, with people always focused on something bigger thanthemselves. I met people at the Academy with a strong moral compass and thathelped push me to want to work in service of others.”