Sophia Chimbanda (T’23) will graduate in May with a self-designed Program II major in Social Movements and Social Justice. She is planning to conduct her Hart Fellowship in Durham, doing historical research to understand and share the stories that paved the way for the first-ever march for queer liberation in North Carolina, just a few blocks from East Campus.

Through delving into the archives at the Durham County Library and recording oral histories from queer activists in the Triangle, Chimbanda hopes to use her fellowship to highlight “the nuances and sociocultural understandings that both fostered and inhibited communities and coalitions” in the 1970s and 1980s. On campus, she is co-director of Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention and Education (SHAPE). In her spare time, she enjoys baking, crocheting, and reading.