The following is a guest piece written by anthropology student Kizzi Frisby. The College of Arts and Sciences occasionally invites students to author reflections on their experiences in the classroom and in the community.

The City of Birmingham is making efforts to decrease recidivism and increase employment for previous offenders. As anthropology majors, select students from the University of Alabama at Birmingham had a chance to participate and observe in research that helps equip them with skills needed for life after college.

I am Kizzi Frisby, a senior anthropology major and human rights minor at UAB. My interests now and after graduation include eliminating accessibility gaps and teaching self-sustainable peace practices to marginalized communities across Birmingham. I was raised on the streets of Birmingham, Alabama, and often experienced the disadvantages that poverty presented within my own life.  Despite the turbulence in my upbringing, I am dedicated to assisting others along their way.

During the Fall 2024 semester, I had the opportunity to serve my community alongside Quire Consulting at the 2^nd Chance Hiring Fair. The 2^nd Chance Hiring Fair is a hiring event specifically catered to citizens with a criminal record. In attending and assisting at this fair, I received direct insight on how to best meet the needs in my community, preparing me for life in my professional field. In my role, I kept a count of what demographic of people were in the room at any given time. While collecting my data and through my observation, I was exposed to real-life research outside of a classroom. Quire trusted me with the opportunity to display what ethnographic skills I have learned in my UAB classrooms and put them into action in my city.

This opportunity has opened networking and research doors for me. I have since been in contact with the CEO of Quire Consulting, something that would not have happened outside of this experience. I am so grateful to UAB for not only setting me up with opportunities like these, but also for depending on and expecting me to deliver. Because of chances like these, I can look forward to meaningful work in my field beyond graduation.

GO BLAZERS!