Miranda Degreenia has spent the past few years stepping further outside her comfort zone.

Originally from Walden, a small, picturesque town in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, Miranda shared that as a teenager she never could have imaged herself as a university student let alone as an undergraduate research assistant. It was only during high school when she was connected to a local Upward Bound program at Vermont State University - Lyndon that university became an option.

“I always knew I wanted to help Vermonters and give back to people in my community.” said Miranda. “After hearing I was interested in working in the non-profit sector and helping others, one of the Upward Bound directors, who was a CDAE alumni, told me “Miranda! Community and International Development is the program for you!” So, I did some research into it and applied to UVM.”

In addition to helping Miranda with SAT prep and financial aid, her Upward Bound mentor was adamant that Miranda should take CDAE 2020 with Professor Kelly Hamshaw. While the course was taught by another faculty member during Miranda’s third semester on campus, Miranda’s tenacity to push herself outside her comfort zone resulted in her accepting a role as a teaching assistant with Professor Hamshaw the following semester. As summer 2023 approached, Professor Hamshaw encouraged Miranda to apply for summer research opportunities.

“Kelly (Professor Hamshaw) explained to me that she had been researching mobile home communities (MHCs) and flood resiliency, and I was interested in the prospect of being involved with her current project. Mobile homes are susceptible to flooding primarily due to where many are sited in flood-prone areas, and not being designed to withstand extreme weather events. Mobile homes are critical to increase homeownership rates and Vermont’s housing stock.” As a Community and International Development major, Miranda clearly understood the value of the research Professor Hamshaw was conducting.  Miranda took one more step outside her comfort zone and became Professor Hamshaw’s 2023 Simon Family Public Research Fellowship.

The Fellowship, which provides UVM students the opportunity to pursue community-based research, allowed Miranda to work with Professor Hamshaw, Dr. Dan Baker, the UVM Spatial Analysis Lab, and the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO), to work on a Department of Environmental Conservation funded project that would be looking at climate and flood resiliency in Vermont's MHCs. In addition to this project, she had the opportunity to conduct her own independent research.

In this project, the research team went around to different MHCs throughout the state and facilitated community conversations to discuss flood risk and concerns with residents. The research team collected stories and concerns regarding flooding in the MHCs and voiced them to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), meanwhile also receiving feedback about flood mitigation projects for the future. Some MHCs had histories of flooding, while some had none at all.

“My role was initially to support the team by transcribing notes, etc., during these community conversations about flood risk. This was before the flooding.” Explained Miranda. In early to mid-July, extreme flooding occurred across much of Vermont – including in some of the MHCs that Miranda and her research team has just visited. “It was kind of surreal – first we were working on this project and now it was actually happening. It’s hard to understand the impact and severity until it happens.”

“In the first few days of the flooding, I scoured the internet for news articles and images of potentially flooded parks and worked with my team and partners statewide to assess the damage. We compiled a spreadsheet of MHCs that might be flooded and began to evaluate the scope of the damage. In the following weeks, we visited MHCs around Central and Southern Vermont to meet with residents, learn about their experiences, and connect them with resources and learn how we could best support them.”

One of the MHCs that the research team had visited in June to facilitate the community conversation had been devastated by the July flooding. Within this community, every home was unsalvageable. Miranda discussed that some people had three feet of water in their homes, up to their kitchen counters. Once the research team understood the scope of the damage, they returned to the impacted mobile home communities and begun to connect people with information about the complicated and lengthy FEMA process for relief funds.

Throughout the response process, Miranda noted that Professor Hamshaw and the members of the research team continued to consistently show up for the MHC residents. She mentioned how this research opportunity informed her understanding of community development:

“I saw first-hand what it means to take a real community-centered approach – the meetings were led by the community members, and our team worked to build trust within each community. Building relationships, prioritizing residents, and showing up to do the work are crucial components of cultivating trust and success for all involved.” 

Miranda takes a moment to answer questions for future students considering undergraduate research opportunities.

What is your favorite aspect of being an undergraduate research assistant research?

My favorite aspects of being an undergraduate research assistant were building community connections and helping people. I met so many wonderful folks at CVOEO who really inspired me to continue doing work in the non-profit sector. Most of all, working closely with Kelly was inspirational and drove me to get out on the ground and be someone who conducts the work and helps makes the change. It was also an honor to meet and work with so many MHC residents and hear their stories.

What was your proudest moment so far in research?

My proudest moment was probably when I realized the impact and gravity of the work our team was doing. From the beginning, I knew that we were doing very important work, but witnessing a flooding event and the aftermath of such severe devastation, it became a lot more evident to me how pressing the issue is. I am proud and honored to have advanced the knowledge and awareness around mobile homes through our project.

What did you learn about yourself during this fellowship?

The Simon fellowship was one of the most valuable experiences of my college experience, and it was interesting to see that I can be involved in these opportunities and projects and help people in the way I have always wanted to. I didn’t know how I could help people, and after having a role in this research and working with a great team, I now know that I am capable of creating tangible change and making a difference.

If you could give your high school self 1 piece of advice, what would it be?

Reach out to people and take a chance. The prospect of research seemed really daunting at first, but the reason I got involved was because I took that initial step outside my comfort zone. It was up to me to accept that opportunity. Take the chances.

If you could give future undergraduate researchers 1 piece of advice, what would it be?

Regardless of what kind of research you are doing, keep an open heart and an open mind because you don’t know where it may take you. I never could have predicted what happened this summer, so be open to adapting as new situations arise. And never forget why you’re doing this – I always knew I wanted to help Vermonters, and I kept that in at the core of what I was doing the whole time.

Miranda will be studying abroad Spring 2024 as a Junior and hopes to continue her work with Professor Hamshaw on mobile homes in future semesters. Following her undergraduate graduation, Miranda looking at completing the MPA program.