Stories from the Field

Welcome to our Partnerships for Change blog series. Curious about the name? Our inspiration comes directly from HECUA’s mission statement. We are driven to “build academic-community partnerships for social change.” Please check this tag for writings, reflections, critiques, and calls to action from HECUA staff, faculty, students, community partners, and alumni. Please submit your own writings as […] Read More »

In addition to semester-long programs in the United States and abroad, HECUA offers a summer-term program: Race in America: Then and Now. This program is a three-week-long exploration of the Black Freedom Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, as well as current movements for racial and economic equity, based in Jackson, Mississippi. We’re delighted to tell you […] Read More »

HECUA programs offer students a chance to think deeply about the issues that matter most, and we’d like to share a piece of that experience with you. This semester, students in our Inequality in America, Art for Social Change, and Making Media, Making Change programs are writing a series of blog posts on a topic of […] Read More »

Welcome to HECUA’s Alumni Profile series. Each month we’ll catch up with a HECUA alumni, and see how their time in a HECUA classroom influenced their career goals, their life in the community, and their pursuit of continued education. If you or a friend would like to participate in this series, please email lohmans@hecua.org. This month […] Read More »

Kaia Desai Fihn will be HECUA’s student blogger for the New Zealand program this spring semester. Kaia is a junior majoring in History and minoring in Race and Ethnic Studies at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. You can read Kaia’s previous post here. Internships sites across Wellington by Kaia Desai Finn Wellington has easily […] Read More »

I created a public space to speak about my experience as a trans person in society. I was interested in finding out what assumptions people make about my gender, so I asked people to draw what they think is between my legs. In return, I answered any questions that they had about my identity or experience with gender. Read More »

Kaia Desai Fihn will be HECUA’s student blogger for the New Zealand program this spring semester. Kaia is a junior majoring in History and minoring in Race and Ethnic Studies at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. You can read Kaia’s previous post here. Our goodbyes at the marae were long, for we were not only […] Read More »

It was only a little over an hour to the marae. On our way out of Tongariro National Park, we stopped at Lake Rotopounamu. This lake is tapu (sacred) to Māori, as it’s a place where Māori women went to give birth. We stood in a circle with our new companions from Whitecliffe College (see […] Read More »

HECUA programs offer students a chance to think deeply about the issues that matter most, and we’d like to share a piece of that experience with you. This semester, students in our Inequality in America, Art for Social Change, and Making Media, Making Change programs are writing a series of blog posts on a topic of […] Read More »

When I arrive at the farm, I change into my work clothes and put on my big green rubber boots. I’m usually freezing in the morning, so I bundle up with a long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, and rain jacket. The day starts and I help out with whatever needs to be done on the farm; usually this involves planting, weeding, feeding the cuy (guinea pigs) and chickens, and preparing produce to be sold. Read More »