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Katia Destine
Katia (she/her/they/them) is a Scientific Writer and Editor Intern at Research Girl.
About
Pronouns: She/her/they/them
Languages: English, Haitian Creole
Biographical Sketch
Katia Destine is a recent honors graduate from the University of Central Florida with a bachelors in Behavioral and Social Sciences, minor in Mass Media, and two certificates in Diversity Studies Leadership and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). During her undergraduate, Katia has conducted award-winning independent interdisciplinary research in sociology, anthropology, media studies, cultural studies, and Black studies. Her scholarship has also earned national and international recognition, with invitations to present at leading conferences across the United States, Great Britain, and Finland. As a McNair Scholar, social scientist, artist, and filmmaker, Katia examines power structures in media institutions, technology, community resources, and public policy to challenge hegemony and inequality in culture and creative expression. Her work primarily highlights minoritized and underrepresented artists and gig economy workers, specifically Black, poor, and working-class artists, musicians, content creators, production crew members, etc.; and how they navigate, resist, and reshape parasitic industry standards.
Katia is currently a Ph.D. student in Sociology at the University of Maryland, specializing in social inequality and mobility, social psychology, social movements, geospatial science, and mixed-method research. In 2025, she was awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Her current project is on digital mapping and exploring the past, present, and future media landscape of the American South as told by African American, Black, and first-generation working-class artists. Inspired by griot tradition and cultural theorists like Stuart Hall and Zora Neale Hurston, Katia’s work is deeply informed by the historical and cultural significance of the South, where Black communities have long been cultural vanguards despite political and economic exploitation.
Outside of academia, Katia enjoys reading and writing science fiction, high fantasy, and superhero novels. She is trained in percussion marching and concert band snare drum, 4-mallet marimba, xylophone, and timpani. She also enjoys poetry, stand-up comedy / improv, musical theatre, and 90s psychedelic classical rock and 2000s indie pop music.
Awards/Honors
2025 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
2024 Society of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science Travel Award
2024 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship
2024 Princeton Prospective Ph.D. Preview (P3) Scholar
2024 College of Undergraduate Studies Presentation Excellence Award
2023 Amy Zeh High Impact Outstanding Research-Intensive Award
2023 Honors Undergraduate Thesis Scholarship
2023 Ronald E. McNair Scholar
Publications
Destine, K. (2023). Community music in Puerto Rico: Bomba as a tool for community development. High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2023, 4. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hip-2023fall/4/