Award-Winning Science Journalist, Researcher Named Graduate Commencement Speaker

Courtney Humphries Will Deal with the Graduate Class of 2022

Courtney Humphries, a PhD pupil who will likely be awarded her doctorate on the UMass Boston graduation, has been chosen because the graduate ceremony speaker.

In her nomination from the Faculty for the Surroundings, they wrote: “We imagine that Courtney Humphries can be an excellent pupil graduation speaker as a result of she is an engaged, and fascinating, scholar and citizen, whose efforts exemplify UMass Boston’s mission to ‘create new data’ whereas serving the general public good of our metropolis, our commonwealth, our nation, and our world.”

They went on to elaborate that “Ms. Humphries’ accomplishments represent a uncommon mixture of contributions that study necessary environmental and group improvement issues; inform students, practitioners, and residents in Boston and past; and, in not less than just a few instances, actually assist reshape town during which she lives, works, and conducts her analysis.”

A non-traditional pupil who started her graduate program as a midcareer skilled, Humphries labored as a science journalist reporting on science, well being, and concrete points earlier than enrolling at UMass Boston as a Ph.D. pupil in Environmental Sciences in 2017.

At UMass Boston, her analysis has addressed a number of critically necessary environmental and group improvement points – corresponding to mapping vacant heaps for social and environmental justice on the Fairmont Greenway undertaking, and balancing city waterfront historical past, improvement, local weather change mitigation, and racial inequality in Boston. Humphries’ insights on these points have been featured in a number of publications.

Initially from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Humphries relocated to Boston to work as a science author for Harvard Medical Faculty, with no intention of placing down roots right here. She mentioned she had no actual curiosity in returning to high school, however after a Knight Science Journalism fellowship at MIT, she discovered a fellowship at UMass Boston centered on coastal communities and bringing folks collectively from totally different disciplines that match her pursuits and led to her enrollment within the doctoral program. Her dissertation focuses on Boston’s waterfront, from the way it has been managed traditionally to how we’re adapting to sea stage rise presently.

“When the chance got here alongside to hitch this fellowship at UMass Boston centered on coastal communities, bringing collectively folks from totally different disciplines to have a look at coastal environmental points from a transdisciplinary perspective, it simply appeared to suit with my pursuits lots,” Humphries mentioned.

“I didn’t assume I used to be going to remain in Boston so lengthy,” she mentioned. “[But] there’s simply a lot happening right here, it was onerous to go away. After which as I’ve been right here longer and longer, I’ve actually come to understand town and get built-in into it. After which I ended up doing my dissertation on Boston, so now I’m completely built-in into Boston.”

Amongst different pursuits, Humphries developed an Osher Life-Lengthy Studying class at UMass Boston on Boston Harbor and within the fall will likely be a visiting assistant professor and Core Fellow at Boston School.

Humphries’ maybe uncommon journey towards attaining the very best educational diploma at UMass Boston was much more uncommon and sophisticated with the coronavirus pandemic and turning into a brand new mom. A part of the message she plans to convey to the graduating class of 2022 is about perseverance and following your pursuits.

“You simply need to maintain working at issues,” she mentioned.