Abriana Kirt wasn’t always interested in politics, but her political journey started soon after the 2016 election -- the first election she was able to vote in. While scrolling through Instagram one day, Abriana stumbled upon some posts by her good friend and previous IGNITE Atlanta Fellow, Kirsten Jackson. As Kirsten continued to post about her work as an IGNITE Fellow, Abriana’s interest in becoming a Fellow herself grew. IGNITE wasn’t in her area at the time, but after a year, the Fellowship opened up in Birmingham and Abriana jumped at the opportunity to become the very first Fellow in the area.
Abriana’s area of interest is healthcare reform, and she’s especially motivated to increase accessibility to healthcare for under-served populations. “You don’t have to be a political science major to become an IGNITE Fellow,” shares Abriana, “As a biology major, I didn’t know much about politics. And at first I thought maybe this position wasn’t for me. But there are so many resources available to me that I learned more about politics along the way.”
Since she became a Fellow, Abriana has established multiple college chapters and hosted many college councils in the Birmingham area. One of Abriana’s many accomplishments include bringing Alabama State Representative Martha Roby to Young Women Run D.C. last year. Abriana went on stage and introduced Representative Roby to hundreds of participants at the conference.
“I’ve grown so much within myself, especially as a leader. I’ve been given the capacity to bloom throughout this Fellowship.”
One of the best parts of being a Fellow for Abriana is the sisterhood with other Fellows, a group of diverse women across the country who support and uplift each other. ‘We cultivate a community that is so raw and so natural,” she says.
As for what’s next, Abriana recently graduated from college and plans to start PA school this fall before eventually starting medical school in the future.
Interested in becoming an IGNITE Fellow? Learn more here.