Carlyncia McDowell, PhD student and graduate teaching assistant, stands in front of the Institute for African American Studies office located in the Holmes-Hunter Building. This is where she works, pursues her research and creates a safe space for Black students. (Photo/Shweta Krishnan)
Bridging the Divide: UGA Ph.D. Student Uses her Research and Personal Experiences to Create a Safe Space for Black Students on Campus
By: Shweta Krishnan
Audio Story: Social Justice Audio Story1 Final.mp3
Carlyncia McDowell has two goals with her work: exploring racial inequities within health and educational policies and supporting her students within the University of Georgia’s Institute for African American Studies (IAAS).
“I’ll take my time and my moments when I get home, but I know that when I step foot here, I really at least want to give to the students that are here,” McDowell said. “Letting them know that this space is a safe space. Safe space to come and cry, safe space to come and eat, safe space to come and talk.”
Navigating the Shifting Landscape of Higher Education
With new executive orders from the second Trump administration, McDowell faces a constant uncertainty about what it means to be in higher education and its impact on marginalized students.
These new executive orders include anti-DEI legislation, “Ending Racial Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling” and the United States’ withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), all of which directly impact topics that McDowell seeks to understand through her research.
“I like to tie in health policy and education policy together and research why,” McDowell said. “That’s what led me to the research instead of actually doing practical work that I originally thought I wanted to do.”
Carlyncia McDowell (second from right), PhD student and graduate teaching assistant, stands with a group of PhD students and her fellow classmates in the African American Graduate Certificate Program. This was taken at the History Graduate Student Association Conference on Mar. 22. (Photo/Rafiki Jenkins)
Research shows that racial inequities and lack of equal access to resources can cause a domino effect in other areas of life, including public health and education.
“Just to have students come to me who are 18, 19, 20 feeling like, what’s the point? How can I continue to move on? Am I really valued in these spaces?” McDowell said. “And to not really have those answers because in many ways I feel the same way. I wanted to work for the Department of Education- will I be able to do that? Will I really be able to teach?”
McDowell mentioned how discouraging it can be to have to stay up to date on the news for her research and continue to have these types of conversations with students.
She also pointed out the ways in which policymakers lack understanding of different communities and the impacts their policy can cause.
“Some people don’t realize ‘as I’m writing this policy’ or ‘as I’m advocating for this,’ that your values and what you believe is also showing through that. That might not encompass everybody it does impact.”
Carlyncia McDowell presents her research at the History Graduate Student Association (HGSA) on Saturday, Mar. 22. She analyzed the implications of education and racism on social determinants of health within education policy. (Photo/Maya Brooks)
Her Upbringing and its Influence on her Teaching
McDowell grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, a city that was predominantly white and heavily influenced her upbringing.
She was no stranger to the reality of growing up with little to no role models that looked like her and a lack of representation in the books she read.
Her personal experiences facing overt racism and being one of 27 students of color in her graduating class of 326 pushed the PhD student to recognize the importance of using her voice.
“I feel like the representation in general; it’s just important,” McDowell said. “So, I think me seeking out that representation, me going to a school, where there were Confederate flags on people’s car or different things of that nature, saying something to my teacher, and writing a whole paper about it, and letting people know how uncomfortable that made me, it made me understand that I have a voice.”
Creating a Safe Space for Black Students
McDowell reflects on her current situation, noting that not everything has been positive, particularly with the current political climate.
“I feel like various parts of my identity, and various parts of people that I care about identities are…attacked and undervalued,” McDowell said. “So it’s like, once again, not only am I trying to prove something to myself, you know, ‘I’m worthy of being here. I’m worthy of the research I’m doing. It’s valuable.’”
While the current political divide and its social impacts personally impact McDowell and her research, she seeks a way to create a safe haven for other Black students, recognizing that this space helped her process the new political changes.
Her dedication to students has had a profound impact. Aaliyah Khaiphanliane, a second-year student studying African American Studies and Sociology, shared how McDowell’s support has shaped her experience within the Institute for African American Studies and UGA as a whole.
Khaiphanliane first met McDowell in the Introduction to African American Studies course, where McDowell served as her graduate teaching assistant. Since then, she has remained connected to McDowell, drawn by the consistent encouragement and inspiration she receives.
“Carly is just an all around amazing person and in many ways, she’s what inspired me to get my PhD,” Khaiphanliane said. “Seeing her hold her own spaces, where she’s very often the only one that looks like her, the confidence that she exudes when she enters a room, and is able to state her views and opinions on things without being intimidated by anyone…I find it very inspiring.”
Carlyncia McDowell speaks with her mentor, Dr. Rafiki Jenkins, and one of her students, Aaliyah Khaiphanliane in the Institute for African American Studies (IAAS) Library. This space is used for students to work and spend time with friends and mentors. (Photo/Shweta Krishnan)
Most importantly, McDowell emphasizes the importance of respecting others and their opinions in her classroom because she believes that is the only way to find a common ground and help positively influence policy.
“This is an open space, and although you might not like or you might not understand what somebody is saying, ultimately, when we do have these conversations, we have it with respect,” McDowell said.
Her ultimate goal is for people from various backgrounds or different beliefs to have respectful conversations that can lead to a compromise or change in actions because it’s necessary for society to move forward.
Skills I Learned:
This story allowed me to take the different multimedia elements of storytelling that I learned throughout my time as a journalism student and use it to tell the story of an individual who has made an impact on UGA’s campus and students around her. It included newsworthy elements of analyzing how the current political climate has impacted her research and well-being, and I sought to tell her story and explain the effect she has made on the people around her. This story will be published on Grady Newsource in July 2025, and I look forward to having this piece be accessible to the UGA and Athens community to highlight this individual’s work.