Kumar's Research Nets Distinguished Student Researcher Award

Kumar's Research Nets Distinguished Student Researcher Award

Rani Kumar photo

Whether she is hiking with Outdoor Adventures in Utah or conducting interviews with the Andean tribe in the Amazon, Rani Kumar’s adventurous nature is focused on two things — human and environmental rights. 

Kumar (pictured above, far left) isn’t your typical University of San Diego senior. Pursuing a double major in Environmental Studies and Spanish and a minor in Latin American Studies, Kumar’s passions on- and off-campus have earned her both recognition and praise.

While studying abroad in Peru last spring, Kumar conducted research with the School for Field Studies (SFS). One of 14 students in the program, she was recently awarded the SFS Distinguished Student Researcher Award for the research she conducted in the Amazon. For Kumar, though, the award signaled that the work she was passionate about also had a lasting impact on the community she grew to love.

Background

Growing up in environmentally conscious Boulder, Colo., Kumar admits that even at a young age she was concerned about recycling, and when it came to getting places, she preferred two wheels instead of four. At 16, Kumar had the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua, where she spent two months living and working in a rural community.

Kumar took a year off between her senior year of high school and her first year of college, choosing instead to spend it doing volunteer work in Costa Rica. “I got to work on a conservation project there for the first six months and for the remainder of my time there I volunteered at a home for teen moms,” she said. “Both of those experiences combined environmental and social work. It is something that has been and is still important to me.”

Study Abroad

Originally thinking she’d travel to the Turks and Caicos to study abroad, Kumar was happy to discover that when she was planning on going, Peru was an option. “Peru sounded really cool and combined my love for Spanish with a place where I felt I could learn more about the environment,” she said.

Deciding that her research should focus on people living in that region, Kumar spent her time focusing on the factors influencing migration. “Peru is a huge country with the main regions being the coast, the Andes, and then the Amazon,” Kumar said. “My research was creating a historical timeline of the migration. I was looking at their migratory experience and their transition into the Amazon as well as their connections or feelings about the region, including understanding the environmental impact of their movement.”

For Kumar, understanding the economic drivers that pushed people from the Andes and encouraged settlement in the Amazon was important to understanding future trends. Along with this, Kumar found that her research touched upon the environmental experiences of the Andean population, most notably that their love for the environment was expressed in their care and concern for the land.

“One of the results was that these people had immigrated here, and they had a deep love of the area,” said Kumar.

The Award

Surprised by the award recognition, Kumar is glad that her research can be used to help better understand the lives of the Andean tribe. Receiving a letter from SFS after the nomination, Kumar admits that the award wasn’t something she’d expected, but was excited to receive.

“It was really nice to hear back from my program that my research meant something,” she said. “What drives me is the idea of environmental justice and that there are inherent links between environmental issues and human rights. A lot of social ills we see are connected to environmental abuses. [I was] able to support marginalized voices or people who might not have the same access or have the same rights for environmental protections.”

For her, the combination of environmental and social justice is something she wants to continue addressing in her work.

Future Plans

With plans to graduate next May, Kumar has made a large impact on the USD campus. A guide with Outdoor Adventures, she is also an assistant lab technician in the biology department, has been involved in the Preceptorial Assistant program, and is currently interning with the Office of Sustainability.

One of Kumar’s passions on campus, along with being in Outdoor Adventures, is her position as a project leader of the Student International Business Council (SIBC) program Broken Chain. The program, which partners with local artists, provides support for a women’s shelter in Costa Rica, the same shelter where she worked before college.

Five years from now, Kumar’s pursuits will probably be similar to what they are now, with her plans to continue working for environmental and human rights. With the next step being to apply for the Peace Corps, Kumar hopes to be in an environmental educator position in Nicaragua, or involved in environmental outreach/community organizer opportunities in Paraguay.

Wherever life leads her, one thing is for sure, Kumar’s adventurous nature will undoubtedly bring about positive change wherever she lands.

— Allyson Meyer '16