Hello everyone; I am Kyle Hammond,  a rising junior in the College of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University. I major in Interdisciplinary Studies and combined Urban Studies, Economics, Entrepreneurship, and Sociology and named my major Human, Business, and Social Development because I want to understand the strengths and weaknesses of a community, individual, or economy and thus analyze and develop efficient, effective ways for improvement, remediation, and maximization.

My research project has four parts two in the first and two in the second. Beginning in May 2023, I will travel to Kampala, Uganda, in partnership with our Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning School and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy to begin research regarded climate risks, plastic pollution, and flooding in informal settlements to build community resilience and improve the livelihoods of the most vulnerable. Though this is a 3-year project, I will return to Boston in June to begin working with Beacon Climate Solutions and Greentown Labs, the largest climate-tech incubator in North America. Here I will focus on workforce development- particularly Minority & Women Business Enterprises (MWBE) - determining the needs & wants of both the project developers and the MWBE service providers, consider how best to support and engage with communities, and develop skills for the green economy that meet the quality, safety, and performance requirements for these projects. These projects complement each other as the green economy is becoming global, and by analyzing the risks in a tropical country like Uganda will allow me to understand what technologies are necessary for them and similar countries, as well as gain exposure to the technology, business, and political landscape within Africa.

The following summer, I will travel to Lusaka, Zambia, to begin the same work I undertook in Uganda, as this is the second location of our project that targets African inland cities and the problems they face as a result of climate change. I will spend the second half of the summer in South Africa undertaking education resilience research. South Africa possesses a similar racial history to the United States, and I want to understand how Black children are being educated and how successful outcomes are propagated. I will also work in partnership with Montessori schools in the US and South Africa to research how curricula that can be accessed without resources such as electricity can be developed so intellectual perseverance can persist. (I also love alliteration). 

Thank you for taking the time to read this I appreciate your interest. To my fellow and former scholars, congratulations on this excellent honor I cannot wait to see how we change the world! 

Stay blessed, 

Kyle Hammond