Kam McDonald

Kamryn is currently pursuing her M.A. in European and Russian Studies at Yale University. She holds a B.A. in International Relations and Gender Theory from UNC Chapel Hill and attended the University of Oxford University as an Armitage fellow studying International Relations, Russian Studies, and Philosophy. Kamryn has worked extensively to improve first-generation participation in higher education, founding the Honors Carolina First-Generation Student Association and the UNC First-Generation Student Newsletter. In addition to her advocacy work, Kamryn previously partnered with the UNC European Center to create materials highlighting Eurasian contributions to Eastern European literature. In this position, she brokered a partnership between Oxford and UNC to feature Ukrainian artwork that showcased the historical contributions of Ukrainian women throughout Europe.

Kamryn has conducted extensive research on strategies to improve gender equity in research in low- and middle-income countries. She co-authored the first global policy guide on strategies to improve representation and participation of LMICs in health research and has published her research findings in the British Medical Journal.

At Yale, Kamryn plans to research how healthcare systems are leveraged to expand state power and explore the connections between this and the broader trend of democratic backsliding. She wishes to conduct this research through a postcolonial lens, focusing on how this phenomenon primarily impacts women and sexual minorities. Kamryn will continue to advocate for first-generation college students at Yale and work to improve first-generation participation in higher education.

Department: European & Russian Studies