FSU Graduate Student from Granite Falls Champions Educational Equity

Joshua Burns, a master’s student at Florida State University (FSU), is working towards an MS in Higher Education and plans to graduate in Spring 2024. Originally from Granite Falls, NC, Burns is dedicated to helping underrepresented students in higher education. His commitment stems from his background as a first-generation, lower-income student from a rural area. His time at FSU has been influenced by his participation in a joint Scholars Program with Florida A&M University (FAMU), which focuses on educational research and social justice.

Burns chose FSU because of its strong academic and research environment, which he first experienced during the university's visiting days. He later obtained a graduate assistantship at the Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement. This role has provided him with various interdisciplinary research opportunities and insights into integrating research across different academic fields.

In 2023, Burns joined the FAMU-FSU PURPOSE Scholars program, which is centered on social justice in education. This program significantly improved his research skills and deepened his understanding of the human elements in research. It concluded with a poster presentation conference in December, where Burns and his colleagues shared their research with faculty, staff, and students from both universities.

Burns leads a research project titled “Caring More for Our First-Year, First-Generation, and Low-Income Students: Perceptions of Barriers and Transitional Success.” This project focuses on the experiences of first-generation and low-income (FGLI) students at FSU. He is also a research assistant on the Helios-Acceleration project, which explores the academic and social experiences of advanced students.

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