Stories from the Field

So I was interested in the bus-riders even before I met Miguel Acosta and his friends. And while I could try to describe the space they created — how the trolley fell silent when Erwin started to play the violin, how passengers were steadily drawn in when the others started to rap, marking the rhythm with heads or feet or fingers — I couldn’t capture it quite as much as this video. Read More »

Each semester, one student from each HECUA program abroad takes on the role of student blogger, sending regular dispatches from the field. Ramah Aleryan will be HECUA’s student blogger for the Globalization, National Identity, and the Politics of Belonging program in Norway this fall semester. Ramah is a junior at Colorado College, majoring in Sociology and […] Read More »

Conner Suddick is a senior at Hamline University majoring in Legal Studies and Social Justice. He participated in HECUA’s Democracy and Social Change Program in Northern Ireland in the spring of 2018, and was generous enough to share this reflection with us of his time as an intern at the Foyle LGBTQ+ Centre in Derry/Londonderry, […] Read More »

Each semester, one student from each HECUA program abroad takes on the role of student blogger, sending regular dispatches from the field. Ramah Aleryan will be HECUA’s student blogger for the Globalization, National Identity, and the Politics of Belonging program in Norway this fall semester. Ramah is a junior at Colorado College, majoring in Sociology and […] Read More »

The Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA), a Minnesota-based consortium of 25 colleges and universities, is thrilled to announce that behavioral and social practice artist Marcus Young will join the HECUA USA teaching team as director of the Art for Social Change program. Read More »

Writing this in the back of the bus, as we wind our way through the mountains and back to Quito, I have mixed emotions. I’m angry at the corporate greed and consumer shortsightedness that threatens the mangroves, and worried about this ecosystem and the communities that depend on it. But I’m also so grateful... Read More »

Each semester, one student from each HECUA program abroad takes on the role of student blogger, sending regular dispatches from the field. Kevin Corrigan will be HECUA’s student blogger for the Sustainable Agriculture, Food, and Justice program this fall semester. Kevin is a studnt at Denison University, majoring in Environmental Sustainability and minoring in Philosophy. Read […] Read More »

In my home community, tail-wiggling is not a typical activity to partake in in front of a group of new acquaintances ranging from 6-77 years. It is, in fact, closer to a nightmare scenario. 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 […] Read More »

Did you know? The very first HECUA program, offered in 1968, was called the "Crisis Colony."   During a period of intense national unrest, grief, anger, and upheaval following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., thirty Crisis Colony students lived together in a vacated Jewish synagogue in North Minneapolis, learning from community members, Dr. Torstenson, and each other.   Read More »