Humanities Without Walls, a consortium of humanities centers based in the Humanities Research Institute at the University of Illinois, has four PhD students participating in the HWW Summer Bridge Program. The students spend eight weeks in collaboration with a community organization working on a public outreach project. Here are this summer’s pairings:
- Breanna Escamilla (Anthropology), community partner: Driven to Reach Excellence & Academic Achievement for Males (DREAAM). DREAAM builds trauma-informed programming for boys and young men in the C-U community aimed at sustaining a culture of achievement, engagement and behavioral health.
- Victoria Fields (Communication), community partner: Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD). Within CUPHD, the Equity Council addresses various forms of systemic oppression and racism in carrying out public health initiatives in the Champaign-Urbana community.
- Rayven Morrow (Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership, with a concentration in Gender and Women’s Studies), community partner: CU Freedom School at Garden Hills Academy. CU Freedom School is a summertime and after-school literacy and cultural enrichment program for K–5 students.
- Suzanne Valentine (English), community partner: Champaign County Mental Health Board. CCMHB coordinates and evaluates the comprehensive local system of mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse services for Champaign County.
The Summer Bridge Program is funded through a grant from the Mellon Foundation.
Top image from Humanities Research Institute Facebook page.