anti-homelessness – SMU Human Rights Program

NYA WATSON ’16

Educational Background: Southern Methodist University: BS in Sociology; Minor in Human Rights (2016)

Washington University in St. Louis: MSW in Domestic Social and Economic Development, Management (2019)

SMU Accomplishments: At SMU, Nya was involved with the SMU McNair Scholars Program and Alpha Phi Omicron. She served as a Social Impact Fellow, Research Assistant for the Department of Sociology, and Connect Mentor.

Postbaccalaureate Career: After graduating, Nya worked as a Homeless Division Associate for the City of Dallas in 2017. She has also served as a Micro-Entreprise Intern for Justice Petersen in 2018, as a Community Reinvestment Initiatives Intern from 2018-2019 and Community Reinvestment Initiatives Analyst in 2019 for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. From 2019-2021, she worked as an Assistant Examiner for Consumer Affairs for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, where she is now an Associate Examiner, Consumer Affairs. Her honors at Washington University in St. Louis include the Bettie Schroth Johnson Scholarship and Phi Alpha Honor Society.

Learn more about Nya’s post-graduation journey through the following link:

stlouisfed.org/open-vault/2019/october/rebuilding-homes-north-st-louis-investment-connection

Updated January 2022

ABIGAIL BUCK ’17

Educational Background: Southern Methodist University: BA in Human Rights, International Studies (2017)

SMU Accomplishments: At SMU, Abby was involved with Alpha Chi Omega and worked as a Student Teacher for the SMU Preschool.

Postbaccalaureate Career: Since graduating, Abby worked as File Clerk for Crain, Caton, & James from 2016-2018 and Human Resources Assistant for SEARCH Homeless Services from 2018-2019. Since 2019, Abby has served at Good Reason Houston, an educational equity startup. As People Operations & Executive Assistant, she works at the district level to improve student outcomes and increase the number of high quality seats in Houston.

Updated January 2022