EWU McNair Scholar Kelly Parke Accepted to Columbia University’s Master of Human Rights Studies

Congrats to Kelly Parke

Congratulations to McNair Scholar Kelly Parke, who’s been accepted to Columbia University’s Master of Human Rights Studies! Their Institute for the Study of Human Rights (ISHR) was “the first academic center in the world to be founded on an interdisciplinary commitment to the study of human rights”.

Columbia’s Human Rights Studies Program:

[…]is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the academic study of human rights theory and practice. Students take courses offered by ISHR, as well as human rights courses offered by other departments, such as Anthropology, History, Political Science, Religion, and Sociology. Students may also take courses offered by other schools at Columbia, including the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia Law School, and the Mailman School of Public Health.

Kelly Parke is a first-generation undergraduate student at Eastern Washington University Graduating this Spring of 2024 with a degree in Anthropology, with minors in Disability Studies and Sexuality & Queer Studies. Kelly’s research interests are related to sexual expression and reproductive rights for people with disabilities, particularly at the intersection of disability with other marginalized identities. For her 2023 Summer Research Internship, Kelly worked with Dr. Ryan Parrey to research the effects of everyday ableist encounters and how they shape the lives of disabled people. After graduating from Eastern, Kelly plans to continue on to a graduate program related to Disability Studies with an emphasis on disability law and policy. We know Kelly will propel any academic program and career path with her integrative social justice and equity passions.