The title of my project is The Black Student Community, the National Pan Hellenic Council, and the
Role that Knowledge of Family History Plays. I am doing a comparative study
on the amount of knowledge students who are members of the National Pan Hellenic
Council (NPHC) have of their family history compared to that of students who
are members of the Black student community here at Mason. I am also looking
into how family is defined by these two groups and the role that it plays in
their lives. During my time here at Mason I have had the opportunity to study
cultural anthropology and take classes on ethnography and African and African American
Studies. Through these classes I have gained a particular interest in studying
African American and Black families from an anthropological perspective. Due to
the unique and diverse history of African American and Black families in the
United States, I find tracking the family history of this group to be
fascinating, so when the opportunity to apply for URSP came around I was really
excited to employ what I have been learning in class towards a topic that I am
very interested in.
After graduation I will be continuing in the Accelerated
Masters Program studying anthropology, and I plan to go on to work as an applied
anthropologist. The research that I am doing now has helped me narrow down what
I plan to study in graduate school. I am passionate about the importance of
this topic and I feel that studying it from an anthropological perspective will
contribute valuable insights not only to anthropology, but also to universities
and the study of Black and African American culture as a whole.
Juggling being in the Accelerated Masters Program, on the
Women’s Soccer team, working in the CSSR survey lab, and working on my project this
semester has not been an easy task. Time management has been difficult but I am
learning it is one of the most important skills I need. I am currently
finishing up conducting interviews with students, and with in the next few
weeks I will be analyzing my data and compiling it for our final presentations.
This week in particular I learned to always have a backup option incase your
voice recorder stops working in the middle of an interview. The guidance of my
mentor Dr. Hughes Rinker has helped a lot through the process, and discussing
my topic with other professors has also given me valuable insights. Every step
of my project has taught me something new and I am excited to begin analyzing my
data and seeing what the outcome will be.
