Working as the Post-Doctoral Research Associate within the ISU 4U Promise program, Carla A. McNelly works closely on multiple ethnographic research projects with a group of interdisciplinary professors across campus. Carla’s major contribution to the School of Education is supporting the research projects of Professors Richardson Bruna and Cammarota within her local Des Moines community: “Because I live and work in Des Moines, I am also accountable to my neighbors, their children, the Des Moines Public School system, and the community-based organizations where the work is centered,” she said. Carla’s long-term goals are to become a tenured professor with a focus on research, to use her education and experience to serve her local state or federal governments, and to join the service of an International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO) in Honduras.