KANESHA CHALEMON
Thesis Director: Dr. Shantel Buggs, Department of Sociology
"I am so grateful and honored to be granted the Bess [H. Ward] Thesis Award. I sought out this award to aid me in the mission of amplifying Black voices and their lived experiences. Without this award, I would not have been able to collect the rich data that helped develop my research study. My Honors in the Major experience was completely transformed due to the ability to make my surveys and interviews accessible by having the resources to publicize my research flyers across campuses in the local Tallahassee community. The variety and numerous participants I received allowed the research from my data to hold more significance.
It is personally important to me that not only do we have more Black voices in research, but we compensate them for their time. These students face daily challenges, and it is important that I was able to acknowledge and show my appreciation for their contributions and their stories. This gave me the opportunity to speak with diverse voices on campus and offered me new perspectives as I was able to engage with more participants due to the incentive I had in place and the ability to share my research opportunity with different social groups and campuses. I am proud of the work I’ve accomplished during my Honors in the Major experience, and I am confident this success can be attributed to the generosity of the Thesis Award."
-Kanesha Chalemon, Fall 2021 Bess H. Ward Thesis Award Winner