Capstone Project Highlight Series: Kat Johnson ’21

Each year, a number of junior and senior class members choose to participate in the MFS Capstone Program. Designed to challenge students who wish to pursue advanced study in a particular field, the program asks participants to produce scholarly work by engaging in independent research and/or creative development under the guidance of an MFS faculty member. This series highlights recently completed projects of the 18 senior students in the program. 

“Affinity Groups are spaces formed for people to be brought together based on one common identifier such as race, gender, or sexuality, to name a few.” Kat Johnson ’21, an MFS senior and affinity group leader, wanted to know the effectiveness of MFS affinity groups and the impact they’ve had on those involved since their creation in 2019. 

Kat conducted her research in a variety of ways: conversations with affinity group participants,  MFS community surveys, group observations, and reflections from her own experiences at diversity conferences and within the Multiracial affinity group. The findings of Kat’s study were positive overall. Many felt that participating in affinity groups with classmates and faculty members who were similar to them allowed for more empathy and offered a sense of comfort. Kat noted that “having a space where one is accepted and can speak to their own experiences is an uncommon opportunity to be relished; the Affinity Groups at MFS offer this space, dedicated to students’ unique identities.” Her project culminated in the creation of a website that details each of the ten affinity groups available to MFS students  and the mission statements for each group. 

Her capstone project helped Kat to “appreciate what it means to belong to a diverse community, as well as what it means to be diverse in a community, [which] is powerful.” Visit Kat’s website to learn more about the MFS affinity groups and read more about her project on her capstone page.