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Alexis “Lex” Hunter’s advisors put it simply: the field needs more scholars like her.��

“Lex is positioning herself to be both a leading theorist and practitioner of community-engaged research,” said her advisors, Ben Kirshner, professor of learning sciences and human development, and Terrenda White, associate professor of educational foundations, policy and practice, who nominated her for the School of Education’s Outstanding Graduate in Community Engagement Award.��

“Our field needs more scholars like Lex, who combine radical imagination, communal care and analytic rigor.”

Hunter arrived at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ at age 21, bringing with her lived experiences and learning shaped by family, community and the everyday spaces where wisdom is shared. She is a researcher who not only practices the core values of community engagement—reciprocity and respect for local knowledge—but she is someone who is pushing the boundaries of what community engagement can be. She was a key contributor to two major participatory action research projects, Voices of Healing and Building a Legacy in Engineering, and both reflect her commitments to collaborating with youth and social justice youth organizations to “understand the ways young people in racially marginalized communities interpret and resist injustice, build community and heal from intergenerational trauma through activism and culturally sustaining practices.”...

“I came to CU for my doctoral studies with the desire to study the intersections of youth activism, mental health, and healing with communities of color,” she said. “It has been a blessing to be in Colorado, where the community carries a long and continued legacy of loving, justice-centered, powerful and potent community organizing work…”

Hunter’s dissertation work, which focused on a project co‑designed with Black and Latina femme youth to surface ancestral archives, demonstrates her gift for creating spaces rooted in trust, shared decision‑making and cultural grounding. Her trust in youth is demonstrated in the ways she has centered youth as co‑researchers in academic spaces, for example co‑authoring published work and co‑presenting at several national conferences with youth partners.

For Hunter, her work is inseparable from the relationships that shaped her research.

“I continue to find that the most tender and precious moments—both personally and professionally—happen through connection,” she said. “Whether it was through collaborative projects with youth, grabbing food with friends or being in conversation with mentors, these cherished relationships remind me that shared presence and witnessing are precious.”

Hunter hopes students who follow will stay present to their experiences and seek community to allow themselves to “feel deeply, question boldly.”

After graduation, Hunter will join the University of Cincinnati as an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Community Engagement, to continue working alongside historically marginalized communities and engaging in organizing and social change.

Her mentors consider her a remarkable scholar and person poised to help redefine what ethical, community‑engaged research can be.

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In her own words

Please tell us a bit about yourself.

My journey as a learner, educator, and researcher began long before I ever entered graduate school. It began with my family and in community spaces - at the kitchen table, at the park, in my auntie's garden. I came to CU for my doctoral studies at 21 years old with the desire to study the intersections of youth activism, mental health, and healing with communities of color. It has been a blessing to be in Colorado, where the community carries a long and continued legacy of loving, justice-centered, powerful, and potent community organizing work.

What is one of the most significant lessons from your time at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ that you’ll carry with you into the next chapter?

One of the most important reminders for me throughout my time at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ is the importance of slowing down and truly spending time in community. I continue to find that the most tender and precious moments -- both personally and professionally -- happen through connection. Whether it was through collaborative projects with youth, grabbing food with friends or being in conversation with mentors, these cherished relationships remind me that shared presence and witnessing are precious.��

What does graduating from ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ represent for you and/or your community?

Graduating represents something so much larger than me. It reflects the sacrifices and persistence of the people and communities who continue to carry me. I know my family is proud of me and how I honor our lineage through my work as I sit with deep, unresolved grief, given the atrocities of antiblackness, and work to transform that pain into practices of healing and solidarity alongside community. This moment is not mine alone, as it is part of a continuum of struggle and possibility.��

What is your best piece of advice for incoming students?

Stay present to the work and to the world you carry within you. Do not separate your experiences as they are the foundation of your insight, your creativity, and your impact. Allow yourself to feel deeply, to question boldly, and to sit with what is unresolved. Seek community intentionally, and lean into relationships that lovingly challenge, support, and sustain you.

What are your next steps after graduation?

After graduation, I will begin my journey as an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Community Engagement at the University of Cincinnati. I move into this next chapter with a desire to continue building with Black youth and marginalized communities who are engaged in organizing work.��