Kyshan Nichols-Smith, Morehouse College
Kyshan Nichols-Smith is a rising senior at Morehouse College where he is studying political science with a double minor in urban studies and international studies. At the college, Kyshan shares his passion for research and quantitative methods as a teaching assistant in a course focused on political science research methods and as a tutor in RStudio. He also works for the Morehouse Community Data Fellowship as a liaison between professors and aspiring student researchers via the Sloan Foundation. Kyshan serves as a research assistant for two projects that are working to publish that focus on Chinese investment in Sub-Saharan Africa, and China’s role in the global battery supply chain. Outside of neo-colonialism and African development, his primary research interests involve Black American political participation and political disenfranchisement in marginalized communities. He explores these interests in a soon to be published paper written with University of California, San Diego faculty and PhD students entitled: “The Racial Gap over Trust in Elections (and how to close it).” Kyshan is also dedicated to improving levels of political engagement and education among his peers. His service as vice-president of the Morehouse College Democrats, and as a field coordinator for HBCU Votes are the primary means in which he does this work. Upon graduation from Morehouse, Kyshan hopes to pursue a PhD in political science.