PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Amorae Times knew she wanted to attend a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). When the Rockwall, Texas native visited Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), an HBCU, she was impressed by the beautiful campus, and everyone she met was “true products of Prairie View, with bright futures,” she said. “I wanted to be a part of it.”
Amorae Times ’21
The first member of her family to attend PVAMU, Times became a part of the Blackstone Pre-Law Society, Ignite, The National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the Honors Program, and she became president and campus organizer of Deeds not Words. Deeds Not Words is a non-profit organization that encourages young people in Texas to engage in the political process to ensure a better future.
“I met like-minded people with similar passions as me, and it allowed me to make friends and colleagues simultaneously.”
She also lived the advice she offers current students: “Build relationships with faculty and peers. They both offer great support in completing your collegiate career and for post-grad,” she said, specifically naming Drs. Quincy Moore, Michael Nojeim, Nathan K. Mitchell, and Melanye Price. “PVAMU has a faculty support system I don’t think other schools have,” Times said. “The entire faculty, specifically Team Woolfolk [those in the G.R. Woolfolk Social & Political Science Building], will go above and beyond to ensure students’ goals are achieved. The faculty will bend over backward to ensure their students are successful.”
Times is graduating from PVAMU with a B.A. in political science, with a minor in social and behavioral science. She is on her way to Rice University, where she will pursue a Ph.D. in political science. She has received a full tuition waiver, a departmental fellowship and a special dean’s fellowship for academic achievement. “My major will be in American politics, with a concentration in racial and ethnic politics, and I am so excited to receive the tools to make an impact on issues I am passionate about,” she said.
Times arrived at this juncture, in part, through a Prairie View internship (she served as a research assistant beginning in January 2019). “I conducted various projects on voter access and voter suppression and, most recently, I presented a project on the Just War Doctrine and Hindu War Ethics,” Times said. “I was also an intern at Summer Research Opportunities at Harvard University, where I studied minority voting patterns and congressional elections with Stephen Ansolabehere, one of the most prominent researchers in electoral politics. That was a great opportunity that I believe helped set me up to achieve future career objectives, such as my acceptance into multiple Ph.D. programs.”
Ultimately, Times would like to work in academia, conducting research on race and ethnic politics, and voting. “Prior to being exposed to the research, I did not know it was even a career!” she said. “I want my work to aid in writing legislation that promotes racial equity on the local, state and federal level. Witnessing students at Prairie View fight for voting rights exposed nuances in experiences between different communities of people. It’s a systemic issue that needs to be and can be fixed.”
By Andrew Cohen
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