Haiti

Just before starting my Ph.D. program, I spent half a year in Haiti, which I’d been drawn to primarily because it was so close to home and yet so underrepresented in U.S. media, outside of coverage of its myriad environmental and political catastrophes. I wanted to learn more about everyday life and the ambitions held by Haitian people, even in the face of unfathomable challenges. Partnering with aid agencies, I was able to venture out of Port-au-Prince, visiting microfinance projects in the country’s rapidly deforested mountainous interior.