Niara Hightower is a member of the class of 2022 from Boston, MA. She is pursuing a degree in African American Studies through the subfield of Race and Public Policy, as well as certificates in Statistics and Machine Learning and Global Health and Health Policy. 

Her research interests are primarily focused on the ways in which U.S. institutions, especially those in the realms of carcerality, economics, and health, marginalize black people and their communities. She is also interested in examining and challenging existing theoretical approaches to dismantling these institutions and their reproduction of inequality. In addition to this, she is passionate about analyzing the ways in which black women are especially targeted and marginalized in U.S. institutions and culture. 

At Princeton, Niara is a Mellon Mays Fellow, volunteer for the Learning Enrichment in the Arts Program, leader in TruThursday and Our Health Matters, office assistant, as well as a dancer with the Black Arts Company and DoroBucci African Dance Company.