Leveraging Education and Policy for Sustainable Development and Social Equity by Kyra

Leveraging Education and Policy for Sustainable Development and Social Equity by Kyra - February 2025 Scholarship Essay

Annita was a beautiful, tall woman who wore a tired look on her face. She spoke to me in Lumasaba, a common language in Bududa, Uganda. My translator sat next to me, keeping pace with her story. Annita’s daily five-hour journey to collect firewood to cook for her family had consumed much of her energy, leaving little time for income generation or childcare. Collecting firewood was a female expectation in her village. “If I don’t bring back firewood, my children don’t eat,” she said. “Sometimes, we must skip meals or eat uncooked food when the wood is gone.”

Her voice carried the weight of deforestation’s impact. “The hillsides are bare now, and every step feels dangerous. The journey is longer and the landslides kill us.” Listening to her and other women recount similar challenges during my fieldwork was powerful, reshaping my understanding of environmental impacts on marginalized communities. What began as a summer research question, How does climate change affect women?, blossomed into a desire to understand the complex intersection of deforestation, energy access, and their social consequences.

By the end of summer, I felt deeply motivated to address these global challenges. My senior thesis builds on this experience, focusing on how resource scarcity exacerbates social and economic inequalities for women in rural Uganda. My interdisciplinary studies in Global Studies, Environmental Science, and International Relations have provided me with a solid foundation and analytical tools to begin disentangling these interconnected issues.

What began as a personal encounter with one woman’s struggle expanded into a passion for international development and a deep curiosity about how systemic inequalities shape lives around the world. I realized that international development wasn’t just about alleviating poverty, but about understanding the structural systems that create and perpetuate disparities, particularly concerning resource access. This sparked my desire to examine the broader policy frameworks that influence the lives of vulnerable populations and how solutions could be designed to address these systemic barriers.

My experiences have shaped my academic pursuits by urging me to study not only environmental science but also the political, social, and economic contexts that frame development challenges. My courses in international relations and environmental policy have deepened my understanding of the global systems at play and how they interact to impact marginalized communities. I have learned that environmental degradation, poverty, and gender inequality are often intertwined, and to address these issues, a multifaceted approach is needed- one that balances sustainable development, human rights, and social justice.

Through this lens, I’ve come to view international development as a field where meaningful change can occur, but only through strategic, coordinated efforts at the local, national, and global levels. This realization has motivated me to focus my future studies on how global institutions, such as the United Nations, can better integrate environmental sustainability with social equity in their development policies. In addition, I am eager to explore how grassroots movements and legal frameworks can empower marginalized communities to take control of their development processes.

My goal is to combine the knowledge I’ve gained in my interdisciplinary studies with hands-on experiences like those in Uganda to create policies that address the root causes of inequality. I aim to work within international organizations or NGOs, advocating for sustainable development policies that consider the needs of women and vulnerable populations in resource-scarce environments. Ultimately, I see international development as a field where I can make a tangible difference, helping to create a more just, equitable, and sustainable world for those most affected by systemic inequities.

Receiving this scholarship would significantly enhance my graduate education by providing me with the resources and support needed to deepen my expertise in international development. With the opportunity to engage with a diverse and accomplished cohort of scholars and practitioners, I would be able to expand my perspectives on global challenges and refine my approach to sustainable development. The scholarship would enable me to pursue research that aligns with my passion for addressing environmental and social inequalities, particularly the intersection of gender, resource access, and policy advocacy. By supporting my academic and professional aspirations, this scholarship would allow me to focus on developing the tools necessary to create impactful change in the field of international development, furthering my goal of working with international organizations to promote social equity and environmental justice.