Welcoming the Dear Neighbor? in St. Catherine University’s first-year Community-Engaged Learning Pilot

Sophie Hunt | Fall 2022

In the fall of the 2022-23 academic year, Welcoming the Dear Neighbor? partnered with St. Catherine University’s Center for Community Work and Learning (CWL) to embed Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) in The Reflective Woman (TRW), a course taken by all first-year students at St. Kate’s. WTDN? partnered with 10 of the 18 sections, or 204 students. In these sections, students learned about WTDN? and the history of racial disparities in housing in Minnesota. With this information, students then contributed to the work of reviewing plat maps and transcribing housing deeds. The sessions were led by student presenters Ava, Sophie, Anchee, Maya, and Mikaela, and featured their own research. Through this project, students built connections and gained first-hand experience of what it means to work for social justice through empirical research.

More information on the program and partnership with CWL here: Part of the Community: CEL in TRW Pilot 2022