This summer, I did a 9-week long internship with Behno, a sustainable fashion company based in New York. Behno is a sustainable handbag company that uses ethical practices, sustainable materials, and sleek designs to create their handbags. They have two to three factories in which they produce their handbags and have paired with a non-profit…
Policy Pub: Beyond Redevelopment – Urban Planning for Racial Equity
On any given day, you can drive around Tallahassee and see new construction everywhere. Development is often an indication of a city’s success and growth. But who gets left behind in this progress, and how can urban planners work toward social and economic justice for every citizen? Continuing Policy Pub’s focus on how national, even…
Social Science Scholar: Research in South America and in the U.S.
With the support of the Social Science Scholars program I was able to work on several projects. Once summer began, I conducted a preliminary visit to Alban, Colombia to form relationships with community members to conduct an ethnographic research project in the future about the negation and recuperation of Indigenous identities in Colombia. After my…
Scholarly Perspectives: Helping Americans Better Understanding the Syrian Civil War
How can the average Floridian get a real sense of the events of the Syrian civil war and diaspora? Well, consider that in 2011 when that situation exploded, the country of Syria was about the same size (about 21 million people) as the state of Florida. What if it all had happened in Florida instead…
Social Science Scholar: Street Art in France
My summer consisted of traveling for my honors thesis, which has come a long way since it’s conception last Spring. Artist Eric Leleu, who lectured at FSU in the Spring, inspired me to study and explore the representation of migrants in art throughout Europe. His work focused on Calais, so I set my sights on…
Research Spotlight: Can We Prevent Democratic Breakdowns and Help Democracies Endure?
The world is facing an erosion of democratic institutions. But this erosion is not an equal opportunity offender. Elections, a standard feature of democracy, have rarely been more popular. Today, democrats and autocrats alike employ elections to legitimize their rule. At first glance, we might be encouraged by this. However, despite this potentially positive trend,…
Social Science Scholar: Interning with CREAR
I spent this past summer in rural Costa Rica as an Art Program Aide Intern with La Asociación CREAR. This non-governmental organization focuses on providing free supplemental education to rural school-aged children in the communities of Playa Sámara and El Torito. For two months, I assisted the art teacher in developing lesson plans, preparing materials,…
Policy Pub: Generosity in Hurricane Michael’s Wake
Hurricane Michael hit Florida’s Gulf Coast in October of 2018 as a category five hurricane. The storm leveled communities to the West of Tallahassee, damaging homes, displacing residents, crippling some industries, and leaving piles of debris behind. In its wake, I set off to study how civil society – nonprofits, religious organizations, and less organized…
Galentine’s Day has become a thing – why hasn’t Malentine’s Day?
On Feb. 13, women will celebrate Galentine’s Day, a holiday trumpeting the joys of female friendships. The holiday can trace its origins to a 2010 episode of “Parks and Rec,” in which the main character, Leslie Knope, decides that the day before Valentine’s Day should be an opportunity to celebrate the platonic love among women, ideally with…
Social Science Scholar: Florida Democratic Politics
This past summer, I worked in Florida Democratic politics with the Florida Democratic Party as an intern, Florida College Democrats as the Director of Political Affairs, and FSU College Democrats as President. These positions were all based out of Tallahassee and were centered around organizing Democrats across the state for the elections in 2019, 2020…
