Tara M. Moore

The purpose of the project was to diminish the economic impact of COVID-19 on small Texas towns by providing each community with a remote researcher to identify limitations and potential areas of growth in order to create and implement policies and strategies to support business recovery. During my internship, I conducted independent research for Dayton and Marfa, Texas, interviewing citizens from a variety of backgrounds and professions to provide a diversified and holistic view of each town's respective strengths and weaknesses. The data I aggregated and analyzed from interviews and surveys along with viable recovery solutions were compiled into a final presentation that was given to each town’s city council.

In accordance with my interest in the welfare of African Americans, I took a sociology honors course with Dr. Monique Pikus about the trials and tribulations, adaptability, and resilience of the African American family from the time of slavery to modernity. For the course final, we worked in groups to create an edited volume that assessed and critiqued the impact of the portrayal of African American families across various media. I selected fictional novels, utilizing Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing to analyze the potential psychological toll that unresolved loss due to bigotry can have on the nucleic family structure. Employing critical race theory and attachment theory, the chapter examines the compromised internal familial relations and the significance of extended family. I am pleased to note that my submitted chapter was awarded second place in the Humanities Research division of the 2020 School of Undergraduate Studies Writing Flag Competition.