Congratulations to the 2022 SREB alumni winners of the Bob Belle Service Grant Awards. The award is another way the SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program seeks to empower program graduates to make a difference in their communities. The grant supports projects that encourage and prepare the next generation of potential doctoral students. All projects must encourage students to explore opportunities that further their educational goals and aspirations.

2022 SREB alumni winners and projects:

Jason D. Mizell, Ph.D. – assistant professor, Department of Teaching and Learning, School of Education and Human Development, University of Miami. Dr. Mizell received his doctorate from the University of Georgia. He is a 2020 SREB program graduate. More about Dr. Mizell >

Project: Minoritized youth and applied linguistics: Opening doors and creating seats at the table, AAAL 2022 

This project will provide racialized youth in Pittsburgh and other areas the opportunity to 1) see that applied linguistics is a field that directly impacts their lives, 2) understand that this field is a viable career option, and 3) create mentoring connections within the field of applied linguistics with scholars of color. Leading up to and after attending the 2022 conference of the American Association of Applied Linguistics, minoritized students in Pittsburgh and their teachers will have the opportunity to interact with various conference presenters who conduct research with, not on, racialized communities.

Travis C. Smith, Ph.D. – clinical assistant professor and program coordinator of the Student Personnel in Higher Education program at the University of Florida. Dr. Smith received his doctorate from Clemson University and is a 2020 SREB graduate. More about Dr. Smith >

Project: Unite Inc.

Unite Inc. is a nonprofit that connects high school students to HBCUs and HBCU students to opportunities. Since 2014, we have assisted our graduating seniors in securing over $40 million in scholarships while being accepted to over 550 universities. Our project is focused on taking rural high school students on a weeklong HBCU college tour. During this time, students will have the opportunity to explore HBCU campuses, engage with admissions counselors, and learn more about the historical significance of the institutions. This grant will assist us in providing food for the students during the 6 day trip. 

Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead, Ph.D. - associate professor, Communication and African & African American Studies, Loyola University, Maryland. Dr. Whitehead is also the executive director of the The Karson Institute for Race, Peace, and Social Justice. She received her doctorate from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and is a 2009 SREB graduate. Learn more about Dr. Whitehead > and the Karson Institute’s partnership with the Baltimore Sun to host a Black History Month Series >.

Project: Karson Institute High School Fellows Program

The Karson Institute’s High School Fellows Program trains high school students and teachers to facilitate and participate in conversations about social justice, antiracism, equity, and American history. Fellows will meet once a month to engage (virtually) with historians and college students from Loyola University Maryland. Students will learn how to conduct and support empirical research answering the three guiding questions: 

1. How do we use the lenses of race and peace to teach about social justice?
2. How do we create a space that connects the sacred (who we are at a micro racial level) with the secular (who we are as a nation, on a macro racial level)? 
3. How do we develop the language and research needed to help facilitate difficult conversations?