The 2018 Commencement awards for practice – the James A. Ware and the Gareth M. Green Awards – were presented to Kia Byrd and Daniel Myran at a ceremony on May 22. Read more about these students’ work below:
Kia Byrd
2018 James A. Ware Award Winner
View Kia’s practice poster here
Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley, greatly appreciated Kia’s work to advance Project Focus: Girls Of Color (GOC). Kia worked with the National Black Women’s Justice Institute to review testimony from public hearings which brought to light the experiences of girls of color in school environments. Developing more equitable school discipline and dress code policies, as well as fostering other ways to create more supportive school environments is a health equity issue that has far reaching consequences. The ways in which Kia engaged with community partners, organizations, and school communities on these issues made a very positive impression with those groups, as well as with Councilor Pressley, and supported the vision for cooperative governing that is especially important in addressing issues that girls of color face. The policy recommendations that Kia put forth have the potential to be transformative to these girls and their present and future communities.
Daniel Myran
2018 Gareth M. Green Award Winner
View Dan’s practice poster here
Dan identified a topic that was of critical public health relevance in Ontario, Canada, addressing problems associated with increased access to alcohol especially in marginalized communities and gaps in the current research and literature. He faced multiple hurdles in obtaining the data, while demonstrating vision, persistence, creativity, and resourcefulness. His work exceeded the scope of a typical practicum, with real public health policy implications for Ontario. Dan also advocated for stronger policies governing the marketing and sales of marijuana following legalization in Canada, demonstrating a commitment to effecting real change in Canada, beyond the quantitative skills that he developed during the practicum itself.