Person

Mya MacNeil

University of Rhode Island, Kingston
Pronouns

She/Her/Hers

Hometown

North Kingstown, Rhode Island

Major

International Studies, Japanese, Political Science

Expected Graduation Date

May 2025

Your go-to fun fact

My favorite holiday is Halloween.

Your “feel good” album

Wasteland, Baby! By Hozier

If you had to be any type of bird, what type of bird would you be?

Ostrich

What motivates you to be a changemaker in your community?

The prospect of being able to reduce suffering and enable positive change is what motivates me. Having personally experienced numerous hardships and growing up in a world that is unpredictable and unforgiving, I can see where change is needed and just the thought of being able to change that for someone else is what fuels me.

My Capstone:

I will undertake a data-driven project that aims to establish a quantifiable metric for analyzing prisoner rights, child labor, and media rights (free press) at a subnational and national level. The objective is to craft a comprehensive report card for the United States, highlighting areas of compliance and violations over the past two decades. By illustrating the United States’ performance in an international context, I aim to advocate for tangible improvements and drive positive changes in human rights practices.

New year, new us. Same mission.

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights is rebranding to honor the legacy of our founder and hero, Mrs. Ethel Skakel Kennedy. From now on, we will proudly be known as the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center

While our name is changing, our mission and work remain the same. We will continue to fight injustice, advance human rights, and hold governments accountable around the world in 2026 and beyond.