MEET A SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT
Andrea Kimpson ’23 • Columbia, SC
Economics and international studies with a Latin America and Caribbean at the Honors College
Charleston Fellow
Community is everything to Honors College student Andrea Kimpson. That’s why she has spent her time at the College focused on making things more equitable for everyone on campus, particularly African American students.
As a member of the Student Government Association, the Charleston Fellows Program and a peer facilitator with the Honors College’s Beyond George Street First-Year Experience program, Kimpson has made it her mission to ensure diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging efforts are front and center at the College.
“My lived experiences as well as those within my community have taught me that there are great needs that require intentional planning and intervention with community input being the key motivator,” she says. “Here at the College, this has looked like getting involved in the efforts to improve DEIB in the Charleston Fellows program because I knew that our community could benefit from greater diversity and stronger community. My involvement with BGS centered around having our community reckon with hard conversations and topics that are needed to develop genuine belonging and inclusion.”
Kimpson, who is from Columbia, South Carolina, was introduced to the College when she participated in “Junior Project,” a program to help multicultural high school students learn more about the College and its admissions process. It was a fortuitous opportunity that led her to enroll at CofC as a double-major in economics and international studies with a Latin America and Caribbean concentration. She is grateful for all the opportunities the College has provided.
“I can truly say that I am able to look at complex problems from multiple perspectives thanks to my fields of study,” says Kimpson.
The Honors College has been an important part of Kimpson’s journey, particularly her work with the BGS program where Honors Faculty Fellows Brooke Permenter ’06 and Jennifer Cavalli worked with her to redesign parts of the program’s curriculum to focus on race, equity and inclusion.
An internship with the mayor’s office in Columbia, South Carolina, in 2021 gave her more appreciation for the importance of bridging gaps within the community. Then in 2022 Kimpson spent the summer participating in the Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute Fellowship at the University of Minnesota, where she learned how economics, statistics and communication impact public policy decisions.
After graduation, Kimpson will head to the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago to obtain a master’s in public policy with an emphasis on health policy. She hopes to promote health equity through technological innovation.
Looking back at her time at the College, Kimpson is proud of her efforts to help make the campus a more diverse and welcoming place.
“I am even more proud to see other students forming organizations and getting involved with DEIB to continue improving the College for the future,” she says.