About 15 students enrolled in a special, weeklong seminar in August entitled “Embracing Detroit and its Environments. It offered students interdisciplinary classroom learning, reflection and immersive experiences in Detroit.
Spending a week reflecting some of Detroit’s cultural and ecological treasures was an eye-opening experience for Rune Cuthrell.
Exploring places such the Black Bottom neighborhood and Belle Isle showed Cuthrell and their Schoolcraft College classmates a part of Detroit they perhaps may not have understood before.
“This week allowed me to view Detroit in a new way and to learn some history I had never been acquainted with before,” they said. “I was profoundly impacted by our visits to Lafayette Park, as well as the Wright Museum of African American History.”
About 15 students enrolled in a special, weeklong seminar that took place in August. Entitled “Embracing Detroit and its Environments,” was sponsored by Schoolcraft College’s Center for Experiential Learning (CEL) – offering students interdisciplinary classroom learning, reflection and immersive experiences in Detroit.
Participants in this non-credit fellowship program embarked on learning in the classroom and in the city, exploring topics such as urban renewal, poetry, the impact of invasive species on biodiversity and more. Students were taught by several Schoolcraft College instructors, all from varying disciplines.
Capping the week, students stepped onto a boat and took a tour of the Detroit River, exploring the waterway’s ecological and historical impact on the region.
Those who signed up for the seminar found it was the perfect way to connect with the city.
“This is an opportunity for me to get back into the community, because I think you should live and serve in the community in which you reside,” said Patti Conover, a post-traditional student who’s seeking a position in law after working several decades as a trauma nurse. “In order for me to do that as a student, I have to learn and appreciate and acknowledge not only the differences in culture, but in people and how people and the environment collaborate.”
The program is one that’s been in the works for two years, said Errin Stegich-Moloney, the Manager of the Center for Experiential Learning at Schoolcraft College. This seminar provided students with ample enrichment opportunities and gave them a baseline to better understand the region around them.
“We had incredible engagement during the seminar, and I’m so happy to see the CEL Summer Seminar Fellowship become a huge success,” Stegich-Moloney said. “Having our students better understand the world around them was the goal, and after seeing the students present on their findings, it’s clear our students have a better understanding of the city.”
Cuthrell certainly felt the impact of the week. They said it made them think harder about the impacts left on places like Detroit, and they said it will be something they will carry with them for a long, long time.
“The CEL Summer Seminar Fellowship as a whole encouraged me to contemplate what justice means to me, what it means for our environment and what it means for the City of Detroit,” they said. “The fellowship was an enriching journey that I will not soon forget.”
