Donte Boyd
Donte Boyd is currently a third-year Ph.D. a student in the Department of Social Welfare at the University of California, Los Angeles. Before entering the program Donte Boyd received his Masters in Social Work (MSW) from Washington University in Saint Louis. In entering the Ph.D. program at UCLA, Donte has received the Eugene V. Cota Robles fellowship for four years, which is awarded to exceptional applicants who also advance the Regents’ goals for diversification of the academy. As a continuing graduate student at UCLA in the Department of Social Welfare, he received two Summer Graduate Research Mentorship (6,000$) awards in academic years of 2015-16, and 2016-17. His research examines the social context of Black adolescents, more specifically, in how the family and school context impacts HIV prevention. His research examines how the role of the family (e.g parent/sibling support, communication e.g.) and other important persons in Black males adolescents lives predict HIV prevention (HIV testing, condoms etc.). Secondly, he’s interested in how the school context of Black male adolescents impacts sexual health behaviors including HIV testing. More specifically, how does racial discrimination, sense of belonging, and school safety impact HIV testing and knowledge in this context. Overall, my research utilizes an ecological approach to understand how family and school experiences, and contextual factors interact with one another to shape positive Health behaviors and HIV prevention.
