Christopher Boone hopes his studies at Bemidji State University will put him on a path to becoming an expert in how minority groups are perceived by the majority, especially in terms of race relations.

“When you’re part of the majority group, you don’t have to think about it,” Boone said. “But when you’re a black man, that’s the first thing you see every day when you look in the mirror.”

He was studying psychology in South Dakota until a year ago, when he started to question his major and went home to Phoenix to reconsider his options. Boone decided that sociology would be a better fit and that he wanted to graduate from a smaller school.

“It all started with a Google search, and on Aug. 24th, I made the trek up here and stayed,” said Boone, now a junior at Bemidji State.

He is a BSU McNair Scholar, a program that prepares undergraduates for post-graduate programs. His interest in culture and race relations landed him a spot on a panel discussion at the 2015 BSU Student Scholarship and Creative Achievement Conference, held April 8.

As a McNair Scholar, he plans to spend the summer in Bemidji studying attitudes toward poverty. He will present his findings at next spring’s student achievement conference. Boone is also involved in the BSU Sociology Club and Spanish Club and has shot video for BSU’s Office of Communications and Marketing.. 

“Chris is a very good analytical thinker,” said Dr. Carla Norris-Raynbird, associate professor of sociology. “He has very good insights and he gets the nuances. It’s a pleasure to have him as a student.”

For Boone, the best parts of BSU are the lakeside campus and the chance to get acquainted with folks, especially his professors. “They have already made great choices in life, and they’re all-around great people,” said the aspiring sociology professor, author and lecturer. He intends to pursue a master’s in African American Studies and possibly Spanish.

When asked about the thinkers whom he admires, he rattles off a list of influential civil rights writers, philosophers, activists and academicians, as well as hip hop artists and jazz musicians.

Borrowing from “The Score” album by The Fugees, Boone noted, “We all have masks that we put on before we go out the door, and it gets burdensome. The biggest misconception is that you can’t talk about it.”

He hopes to get people talking about what divides and unites.