MSU Student Receives Fellowship Leading to Graduate Study on Urbanization and Gender
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EmailSarah Murray, MSU Urban & Regional Planning (URP) graduate student in the School of Planning, Design and Construction (SPDC) received a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship for this academic year.
By: SPDC Communications
Sarah Murray, MSU Urban & Regional Planning (URP) graduate student in the School of Planning, Design and Construction (SPDC) received a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship for this academic year. The fellowship was granted through the African Studies Center at MSU.
Murray had the opportunity to work under her advisor, Peilei Fan, a SPDC URP Professor, as a research assistant through the Global Center for Food Systems Innovation. She also worked closely with Jenny Olson, from the MSU College of Communication Arts & Sciences during that time. This experience significantly influenced the thesis topic Murray chose for her graduate research, titled “Planning for Food Security as Impacted by Urbanization and Gender: A Case Study of Dar es Salaam.”
Along with Dr. Fan and Olson, Murray experienced great inspiration and influence from Drs. Zenia Kotval and Mark Wilson, both URP Professors at SPDC, and the four of them became the faculty members on her graduate studies committee.
Studying an African language is a requirement for the fellowship Murray received. With her dedication to urban and regional planning, and the focus of her thesis, she chose to study Swahili, one of the official languages of Tanzania (English being the other).
“Last summer, I spent eight weeks at Indiana University taking a Swahili class that was five hours a day, five days a week!”
During that time, Murray received her FLAS from the Center for Advanced Study of International Development (CASID) at MSU for her hard work. She plans to continue studying Swahili throughout the remainder of her education.
Murray also traveled to Tanzania last summer to execute her research on rural to urban migration. During her time there, Murray spoke to women who had moved from Kilimanjaro to Dar es Salaam. During her discussions, she primarily talked to women about their measure of well-being before and after the move, determined by their food security and idea of having a better quality of life. Murray also interviewed the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and was astounded to hear that many of their decisions were based off of the research being done through MSU.
Murray looks towards the future with inspiration and excitement and plans to complete her Masters of Urban & Regional Planning in May 2015. When asked about her career plans after grad school, she said, “Right now, I’m keeping my opportunities open. I want to work in an area that advances food security and influences policy. I believe Urban Planning improves quality of life.”
She also had some advice for other students, mentioning that MSU has an incredible wealth of resources and opportunities available to students in URP and that students should take advantage of them.
Murray said, “Assess your passions and utilize resources to explore your passions. Keep in mind an interdisciplinary approach makes you stronger, and also makes you generally more informed and increases your critical decision-making.”
