BUILDING CLIMATE RESILIENCE: COMMUNITY GARDENS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

The socio-political movements in post-earthquake Christchurch are studied to better understand the interplay of community gardens, climate, environmental, and land-based education, and to analyze their relevance to entrenching climate resilience in the region. Social networks and community responses to natural disasters like an earthquake are leveraged to understand their ability to influence the pillars of climate resilience, those being community, economic, and ecological resilience, respectively. The central hypothesis and research question of this paper will seek to answer: Can social cooperation in the wake of a natural disaster influence the ability of a community to respond to similar disruptions caused by climate change? Semi-structured narrative interviews, participant observation, and volunteering composed the backbone of the methodology used to produce a qualitative analysis of these social movements and evaluate their relevance to building resilience. The rich narratives composed from this suggest that the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence unilaterally brought the Christchurch community together, with many grassroots, bottom-up social movements led by educators and gardeners materializing. Christchurch has supported the upscaling of community gardens, in no small part due to the social, mental, and physical well-being they inspire. In concert with land-based education, they positively impact the pillars of climate resilience. However, despite Christchurch’s political progress through Food Resilience and Regeneration plans, the City Council and New Zealand still sorely lack a comprehensive approach to climate curricula and action. An update of the New Zealand Curriculum is scheduled for implementation in 2027, and the three largest metropolitan areas have climate resilience plans of their own, but it is still too early to determine if they will deliver transformative climate action that other well-meaning policies and curricula promised and failed to deliver. This research recommended building on the positive momentum of social movements, where communities are used as resilience capacity builders

Beyond Borders and Binaries: A Queer Look at Study Abroad Advising for LGBTQ+ Students

This study examines the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ students studying abroad, the practices of study abroad advisors in their support of LGBTQ+ students, and their alignment with one another. Findings from qualitative analysis of survey responses from LGBTQ+ students that have studied abroad in the past five years and interviews with current study abroad advisors suggest that study abroad advising practices can unintentionally reflect a deficit-oriented perspective, emphasizing risks and challenges LGBTQ+ students may face while abroad over strengths and resilience. However, advisors embrace equity-based practices that seek to address barriers and affirm LGBTQ+ identities within study abroad, even when faced with institutional constraints and new challenges under the Trump administration. The study highlights the need for inclusive advising that incorporates LGBTQ+ identity into all resources and strategies, an emphasis on resilience-based dialogue, meeting students where they are physically and figuratively, and regular reflection by advisors on their advising strategies. Findings contribute to a broader discussion of LGBTQ+ inclusion in education abroad and the importance of shifting from a risk-focused approach to one that centers on student empowerment. Keywords: LGBTQ+ students, education abroad advising, marginalized student experience, study abroad, equity-minded advising, higher educatio

Strategies of Animal Rescue Organizations in Agadir, Morocco: Addressing Cultural, Biological, and Government Challenges

Animal rescue organizations in Agadir, Morocco, play a critical role in confronting the intersecting challenges of stray animal overpopulation, zoonotic disease risks, and insufficient government support. This research examines how these organizations respond to cultural perspectives, public health concerns, and state-endorsed culling policies through a combination of field observation, social media analysis, and interviews. Focusing on two major NGOs (Non- Government Organizations) including Sunshine Animal Refuge Agadir (SARA) and Morocco Animal Aid (MAA), the study compares their outreach strategies, operational transparency, and organizational effectiveness. Findings reveal that while SARA offers a structured, humane model centered on TNVR (Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return) and community education, MAA has raised significant concerns related to site mismanagement, staff departures, lack of legal compliance, and potential misuse of donations. This contrast highlights the broader systemic issues facing animal welfare in Morocco and underscores the need for ethical, well-regulated, and collaborative approaches that integrate public health, cultural awareness, and institutional accountability

The Healing Power and Commodification of Gnawa Music and Black Identity in Southern Morocco

This project explores the contemporary role of Gnawa music in Morocco through an ethnographic study in the village of Khamlia in the Southeast region of Morocco. Gnawa people are known for their spiritual traditions, specifically their musical rituals. The Gnawa have used music as a tool for healing, remembrance, and expression. This research investigates how Gnawa music is practiced today and how it functions as a form of commodification and racialized tourism. The study draws from both field observations and heavy literature analysis in various fields including research in colonial trauma, Black identity in Morocco, and clinical applications of music therapy. This study finds that while daily performances are tailored to tourists and often reduce centuries of complex and painful histories, sacred ceremonies remain protected and continue to serve their original purpose of healing the community. This paper argues that Gnawa music exists at a point of tension in today’s world as the Gnawa must negotiate portions of their identity for survival due to pressures of the tourist economy in the Sahara Desert

FROM HOPE TO FRUSTRATION: THE IMPACTS OF THE WITHDRAWAL OF USAID ON EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN MOROCCO

Following a series of executive orders administered by the Trump administration in January 2025, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID abruptly withdrew from Morocco, leaving an impact on education and development. Using qualitative methods, including six semi-structured interviews with USAID personnel, partners, and local NGOs, the study captures the personal, financial, and operational effects of this sudden cessation. The paper highlights how USAID\u27s localized, inclusive approach had catalyzed significant educational initiatives and collaborative development models, many of which were disrupted or completely dismantled. Key findings reveal that the termination of USAID activities not only jeopardized active programming—such as the Bridge to Middle School project—but also led to widespread job loss, institutional uncertainty, and damage to the U.S.\u27s image abroad. This study offers an early, human-centered reflection on the consequences of foreign aid withdrawal and argues for sustained, ethical, and locally grounded development efforts moving forward

Spatial Narratives: Women’s Roles, Agency, and the Evolving Concept of Womanhood in Contemporary Morocco

This study explores how young Moroccan women experience, interpret, and reshape spatial environments in contemporary Morocco, focusing on the capital of Rabat. Using a qualitative methodology that includes semi-structured interviews, anonymous surveys, participant observation, and photographic field notes, I examine how public and private spaces reflect and reinforce gendered expectations. Findings reveal that while women have increased visibility and public life, their presence is often conditional, structured by norms. Findings reveal that while women have increased visibility in public areas, their presence is often conditional, structured by norms that dictate how they should move, communicate, and appear. Across spaces like cafés, universities, streets, and homes, participants described navigating a shifting set of social expectations that simultaneously celebrate female independence and demand modesty and obedience. Despite these constraints, women employed subtle surveys of resistance and negotiation, claiming space through presence, companionship, and redefinition of womanhood. This study emphasizes the importance of contextual agency and shows how gender roles in Morocco are constantly renegotiated through everyday spatial practices

Authoritarian Practice, Liberal Rhetoric: Journalism, Surveillance, and the Paradoxical Architecture of Silence in Morocco

This research study explores the perceptions of Moroccan journalists on issues related to press freedom, human rights, and freedom of expression, and how these topics are repressed in Morocco’s political, social, and economic context. The goal of this paper is to provide a contextual analysis of the current state of press freedom in Morocco through a historical and contemporary lens by addressing the distinct institutional, social, political, and cultural spheres of society. This study uses a qualitative approach using the methodology of individual interviews with Moroccan journalists, activists, and researchers. The findings of this study illustrate a direct alignment between the literary analysis and personal testimonies of experiences related to surveillance, persecution, and human rights violations. Altogether, this study found there is a sense of consensus among scholars, researchers, and journalists that there is currently no freedom of the press in Morocco. This study is significant in developing an understanding of the mechanisms of repression to silence dissent from journalists and activists in Morocco. The broader impact of this research will contribute to ongoing discourses on the operation of authoritarianism in specific social, political, and cultural contexts

We Are The Cemetery of Talents: Amazigh Reality in the Anti Atlas

This paper seeks to explore a dynamic in which the Amazigh people of the Anti-Atlas Mountains are forced to decide between stability and success at the expense of their cultural identity. The Imazighen are deeply prideful of their culture and history. But in Morocco, being Amazigh often comes with burdens that disproportionately encumber this culture when compared to general Moroccan society. I will discuss literature on linguistic dynamics with the Tamazight language, literature regarding Amazigh art, and Pan-Africanist literature in order to gain a well-rounded insight into the Amazigh situation. I will then synthesize this information, along with some of my personal experience in an Anti-Atlas Amazigh village called Ikniouen, to create an argument regarding this dilemma of identity and stability. An argument that ultimately states that the societal elite, the then colonial French and current Arab-Moroccan elite, have intentionally crafted this dynamic for the Amazigh people. They placed the Imazighen into this dilemma as a means to keep the Amazigh people underdeveloped and to force them into driving their profit-driven entities. An argument that states that the Amazigh situation is one of oppression from powers that seek to benefit off the backs of the Imazighen\u27s suffering and hardship. This paper hopes to offer a different perspective on Amazigh struggle; hopefully, it is a perspective that opens up paths to progress and the realization of Amazigh human rights

Flow-nalytics: A Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Capacity Assessment of a Menstrual Health Education Organization

This capstone project explored the monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) capacities of an organization in Colombia that promotes comprehensive menstrual education. The current contexts surrounding menstrual health and hygiene management (MHHM) globally and in Colombia, the relevant policy environment and the MEL context of MHHM were featured prominently in the literature review. Concepts such as feminist pedagogy theory and the term “empowerment” were also explored. The project methodology consisted of a desk review, facilitated discussions and observed workshops with the organization founder, which used the pseudonym, Tenara. In collaboration with the organization’s founder, the author identified various findings, challenges and recommendations for the organization from these activities. These included revising the theory of change narrative and identifying challenges and opportunities for Tenara to strengthen its MEL capacity. Unexpected insights and blind spots for Tenara and challenges encountered while working with MEL assessment tools for this project were also identified. Key recommendations included that the founder engage in further exploration and research on MEL practices, defines a program strategy, conducts further research for cultivating safe spaces, and incorporates important stakeholders in the organization’s MEL strategy. Tenara should also continue its development and adaptation of MEL products such as the suggested revised theory of change narrative and visual and logical framework. The findings and recommendations contribute to the field of MEL in relation to menstrual health education and menstrual health management programs. Additionally, this project contributed to Tenara’s continued learning and understanding of MEL concepts and how they can be applied to Tenara. Keywords: Comprehensive menstrual health education, Women and girl\u27s rights, Monitoring evaluation and learning, MEL, Menstruation, Colombia, Menstrual health and hygiene managemen

Seoul’s Soul: A Study of Drag Culture’s Influence on Queer Young Adult’s Education in South Korea

Drag performance has long been considered a site of artistic expression, political resistance, and community-building within LGBTQ+ spaces. This capstone research project explores the educational impact of drag culture in Seoul, South Korea, with a particular focus on how drag performances serve as a pedagogical and educational tool that challenges gender norms, fosters queer community, and provides a platform for political discourse. Through qualitative analysis of participant observation, bilingual Korean and English survey responses, and in-depth English interviews with drag performers, performance organizers, and audience members, this research highlights the ways in which drag can function as a site of both explicit and implicit learning. The findings reveal that drag performances in Seoul contribute to cultural education, personal identity exploration, and social activism despite ongoing divisions within the LGBTQ+ community and external socio-political challenges. By situating the experiences of Seoul’s drag performers within broader conversations about queer pedagogy and performance, this research defends the potential of drag to disrupt traditional educational structures and create inclusive, transformative learning environments. Keywords: LGBTQ+, drag, queer pedagogy, informal education, gender identity, and social norm