How will my donation be used?
To support student stipends relating to faculty-supervised undergraduate research, creative work, and internships.
This work may include research on sustainability (coming out of courses on Green France, Thinking the Earth, and Global Fictions of Climate Change) or research on French and Francophone Studies (coming out of courses on The Idea of France, Global French, and Feminist Africa).
Student Impact Stories
So far, funds from Pitt Day of Giving have supported the research of four students in the last three years. Below are stories from two of those students:
Leah Dresse researched her native Haiti (first photo above), and specifically, a community-based initiative to address the pressing issue of water resources for agricultural purposes, which produced her paper, “The Ounaminthe Canal: The Politics of Food Sovereignty, Aid and Agricultural Sustainability in Haiti”. While highlighting the history of oppressive international mandates, as well as political corruption in Haiti, Leah’s work demonstrates clearly how the completion of an important civic project during a particularly violent and chaotic moment in the history of Haiti helps us understand the power of civil society.
Catherine Certo carefully researched the efforts of the French fashion industry to make their business practices more sustainable (second photo above). Having meticulously prepared her action-plan for a short stay in Paris during the summer of 2024, Catherine was able not only to highlight the initiatives of the corporate luxury giant LVMH, but first and foremost to interview and document grassroots creators. Several designers, in the city of Paris, have opened their own boutiques and manufacture their own goods with recycled and upcycled materials, and not only for wealthy people. Catherine created an informative and esthetically appealing project, entitled “Sustainable Retail in Paris.”