Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ created the Community Scholars for Black Lives Fellowship Program to empower students to develop research projects specifically designed to strengthen and impact the Black community. With the Amgen Foundation as our major funder, we provide a select cohort of students with scholarships, mentorship, and a platform to pursue work that embodies progress toward a more just and equitable society.
Through the ASCENSO Hispanic Fellowship program, students serve as advocates for the Hispanic community by reaching out to representatives from county agencies and departments to research different services and policies and their impact on the Hispanic community. Students also raise awareness of important issues and directly influence systemic change.
Student Abstracts
Left Behind: The Silent Struglle of Children with Mothers Across Borders
This research explores the multifaceted experiences of children left behind in Zimbabwe due to maternal migration to neighboring South Africa. Driven by economic hardship and political instability, many Zimbabwean women seek employment abroad, often leaving their children in the care of extended family or community members. I analyzed data already collected 2019-2020 by Dr. Zikhali and Dr. Muñoz. The data was collected through arts-based participatory methods, focus groups, storybooks, and zines. The study highlights children’s emotional, social, and educational challenges, revealing resilience amid hardship. The research project focused on contextual factors such as kinship systems, cultural norms, and migration patterns, illustrating how family separation impacts children’s identities.
Student(s):
Ninelihle Dube, Dr. Lorena Munoz and Dr. Thulie Zikhali