Micah RobinsonGraduate Studenthe/they

In pursuing my Master of Science in Human Ecology, I intend to achieve a career where I can cultivate and promote policy reformation efforts that center the voices of underserved populations at all stages.

I have participated in many opportunities that have fortified my knowledge of why direct collaboration with underserved community members themselves yields the most transformative results. Principally, I served as a 2021 AmeriCorp Teaching Fellow in collaboration with a nonprofit called Blueprint Schools Network and KIPP Collegiate High School, a charter school which predominantly serves Black, Latinx, and low-income students in East Nashville, Tennessee. My role as an algebra support teacher for a cohort of students who have been historically and systematically excluded from achieving levels of success comparable to students of privileged identities led me to integrating culturally-responsive teaching practices. Incorporating the experiences and interests of my students provided more accessible entry points for them and ultimately yielded better performance.

Prior to my AmeriCorps fellowship, I also served as a Literacy and Social-Emotional Development Fellow with the nonprofit Youth & Opportunity United in Chicago, Illinois. My Bachelor of Arts in English and creative writing from Columbia College Chicago prepared me immensely in supporting 1st-3rd grade students in writing and reading comprehension. The mentorship I received in this role helped me provide entry points to literature that were relevant to them as predominantly Black and Latinx youth. I observed that care for their interests and social-emotional well-being increased their engagement and content mastery most measurably.

Through these rewarding experiences, I have come to understand that best practices in trauma-informed, culturally competent community care are constantly evolving, and thus, that holding ourselves accountable to staying well-informed is crucial. This responsibility also entails a duty to extend these value systems as widely and comprehensively as possible so that our coalitions with underserved communities can be truly relevant and transformative. As a masters student at the School of Human Ecology, I aim to commit myself to this lifelong endeavor of guiding and learning from future generations of policy change-makers.