Yale sociology major Abdul-Razak M. Zachariah has been awarded the prestigious Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship to support his research and his commitment to an academic career in the field. Zachariah, a sophomore in Timothy Dwight College, will use the fellowship to research the influence of social bonds between members of low-income, urban communities on education-related community action. The fellowship is designed to support minority students and others with a demonstrated commitment to eradicating racial disparities in pursuing PhDs and subsequent careers in academia. It allows students to work on paid research projects during the academic year and to pursue full-time research during the final two summers of their college education. Zachariah said: “I hope this fellowship will help me to become a skilled researcher on social inequalities while also giving me the opportunities and tools to pursue a PhD in the sociology of education or in urban education.