Master of Public Affairs student Devarier “Dee” Smith (MPAff ’26) is spending his summer more than 5,000 miles away from the LBJ School in Dakar, Senegal. He is part of the inaugural LBJ Senegal Experience, a new Texas Global program that brought 14 LBJ students to Dakar for internships, language study and cross-cultural exchange.
“Experiencing Senegal with other LBJ students has made this trip incredibly special. I couldn’t have asked for a more thoughtful, supportive and fun group to share this journey with.”
Before joining the program, Smith had never traveled outside the U.S. However, with encouragement from LBJ faculty and staff, such as Ambassador Larry Andre and Chris Cutkelvin, he decided to take the leap and apply.
The program matched each student with a local organization based on their policy interests, giving them the opportunity to gain real-world experience in an international setting. Smith, who is deeply committed to urban development and poverty alleviation, was matched with Hundreds of Original Projects for Employment (HOPE’87), an Austria-based nonprofit leading a resettlement and redevelopment effort in one of Dakar’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.
Smith’s day-to-day internship work involves supporting community engagement and tracking the progress of relocating families from Baraka, one of Dakar’s poorest slums, into safer housing. He works closely with local partners to ensure the resettlement plans are respectful and meet residents’ needs. His time at the LBJ School prepared him well for this role by teaching him to be open to new ideas and adaptable to different cultures. Classes also helped him develop skills in policy analysis and community engagement that he applies every day to this complex urban development project.
Alongside the internship, Smith and his LBJ peers are studying French, Wolof (Senegal’s most widely spoken language) and Senegalese culture and history at Université Cheikh Anta Diop. The group also gets to go on excursions outside Dakar experiencing different parts of the country and fully immersing themselves in Senegalese life.
A powerful moment came when the group visited Gorée Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and former center of the transatlantic slave trade.
“As an African American, it was especially meaningful to stand in a place so connected to the painful history of my ancestors. It gave me a deeper understanding of that legacy and made me reflect on the resilience of those who came before me.”
One of the biggest challenges Smith has faced in Senegal is the language barrier. Since most people speak Wolof or French and English is rarely used, even simple tasks like getting a taxi or ordering food can be difficult. At first, it was frustrating, but over time, he’s learned common words and phrases that make daily life easier. Although it has been a challenge, this experience has also helped him build new language skills that he knows will be useful in future travels and work abroad.
Smith says the experience has expanded his global perspective and grounded his policy goals in a real-world context. A first-generation student from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Smith has long been passionate about tackling poverty, economic development and gun violence in U.S. cities.
Growing up in a low-income household, these issues have always felt personal and urgent to him. However, being in Senegal has helped him realize how poverty can manifest differently around the world and how similar human needs truly are. “No textbook can replicate what I’ve learned by being here,” Smith said. His experience has given him a much broader perspective on poverty and how local economies function outside the U.S.
After graduation, Smith hopes to work in local government or at a nonprofit organization tackling urban policy challenges in the U.S. now that he's equipped with new tools, empathy and global insight.
“My experience in Senegal hasn’t changed those goals, but it has expanded my perspective on how to approach them. Seeing how communities in another part of the world navigate similar challenges has helped me think more broadly and thoughtfully about potential solutions, and I plan to carry that global awareness into my work here in the U.S.”
Explore more Texas Global experiences here.