Taylor Mazique, a junior double majoring in GWS and History, has been awarded the 2020 Jean Alice Scharre Thompson Scholarship in GWS.  The scholarship recognizes outstanding GPA as well as involvement in activism and social justice work.  Taylor has been working hard since her freshman year to raise awareness about the climate on campus for students of color.   Her efforts have had a huge impact on the Department of History, where she works as the social media intern.  By organizing events around Black History Month, Women's History month, and Hispanic Heritage, Professor Clare Crowston says that "Taylor has single-handedly raised the public profile of the department’s commitment to these crucial histories."  She says Taylor's work has helped History reach a more diverse audience by showing how History is relevant to current issues around social justice. 

In addition to her job at History, Taylor works at GWS, assisting with public outreach, and for the Office Admissions, where she writes a blog for prospective students.  The topics of Taylor's blog are far-reaching, from holiday shopping on a student budget, to caring for natural hair in a dormitory shower, to fostering change on a college campus.  Taylor's advice to students resonates with her fellow students in GWS: "If you ever feel like something is missing or something is not right, you do have the power and the ability to do something about it....No action is not enough or 'too small.'  Action is action."

Taylor's long-term goal is to become a History professor focusing on Black Women's Studies, but she is equally committed to shifting the work of education to non-academic spaces.  She plans to someday create a non-profit organization to support and enrich the lives of Black girls in her neighborhood and beyond.