Mia Morales

Mia is the first graduate of University of Cincinnati's Bachelor's degree program in Social Justice. Her passion for community building and advocacy is seen through her attainment of two degrees (BA, Political Science & BIS, Social Justice) and three minors (Spanish; Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; & Africana Studies) in Spring of 2024. She pursued her Masters as a 4 + 1 student and will graduate with her MPA SJ in Spring of 2025. Mia starts her PhD in Sociology in Fall 2025 at the University of Michigan.

Mia's research interest revolves around the barriers to a good quality of life for Black Americans. Her first study was in 2020, where she investigated the disproportionate Black Infant and Maternal Mortality Rates in Cincinnati over the last century. She proceeded to work on the SNCC Legacy Project to create a curriculum which better represented what occurred during the Civil Rights Movement; and presented troubling similarities between past practices and pending policies (Ohio SB 83) at an International McNair Research Conference in Croatia.  Mia's proudest accomplishment is as a co-CEO and co-Founder of her nonprofit, Future Black Leaders Inc., where she helps empower a new generation of leaders through a collective pursuit to increase educational attainment and social capital in the Black community at large.