Kory Gaines, Class of 2021

AAAS had an invaluable impact on my life and academic trajectory. AAAS taught me that Black Studies has its own disciplinary concerns across various disciplines with a political commitment to match. I gained an interest in working with archives and recognizing the trouble of the archive. I learned to hold my intellectual and artistic passions together as scholar and that Black cultural expression is important force across the globe. AAAS allowed me to travel outside of the U.S. for the first time and study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa. The program also gave me some of my dearest friends to this day.

-Kory