For Shanae's honor scholar research project, she conducted an excellent research project looking at how Caribbean young people use, contest, complicate and extend the official school curricula to construct understandings of their own identities, cultures, and histories. She found that the neglect of Caribbean communities in the official school curriculum provoked bullying and social and academic exclusion but that Caribbean students countered these through drawing on their racial, ethnic and national communities and identities and conducting their own research to arm themselves with knowledge.

Her honor scholar thesis, which looked at Black mother's experiences with the child welfare system. In crafting these projects Shanae drew on her experience as a Caribbean student/advocate and her extensive community service work. Shanae was the founder and president of the Caribbean Students Association on DePauw's campus. She has also been active in a broad range of service projects focused on education and criminal justice in and beyond our community. Continuning her academic achievement, Shanae has recently been admitted to law school.