Student story

Each term, one participant from each HECUA program takes on the role of student blogger, sending regular dispatches from the field. AV Lee-A-Yong is HECUA’s student blogger for the Conflict, Peace and Transition program in Northern Ireland this spring. Ze is a student at Swarthmore College, majoring in peace and conflict studies, minoring in psycholgoy. […] Read More »

When I see someone who does not have what I have, I think “they probably want x, y, and z because I enjoy/have those things.” Because of my experience, imagining new housing and coffee shops sounds like a great way to bring people out of a mode of survival in the Jackson neighborhood where we stayed, but that’s because I’m only seeing the neighborhood from MY lens. How would I have ever been able to guess their needs? Read More »

Think of where you are sitting/standing right now and all the other people who have occupied that same space. Now think that those people were property to another human being. My eyes saw the same fields stretching out in front of me. My skin felt the same Louisiana sun beating down. The weight of past lives that have been lived and injustices that have been suffered hit me like a semi truck. Read More »

All these people, and many, many more, helped me bridge the gap between textbook and reality and inspire me to embrace, whole-heartedly, the resistance against injustice and inequality within the country. They opened themselves up to the class and used their radical vulnerability as a means to teach us of the oppression they have faced and will continue to face. And it is for this that I think HECUA is so dang special. It provided the means for radical relationships to form and created space to learn from those who are leading the fight against inequality in America. Read More »

During the last couple of days, as we tried to say goodbye to each other and the town we'd come to love so well, I struggled to find words. Even now, a whole week out of there, I still can't grasp the right words. I don't know how to write this post and convey the sadness I felt in leaving, or the profound joy of life I discovered while there. As a big talker, I find myself in a massively uncomfortable situation. Read More »

I think I can speak on behalf of most students when I say that this was one of the most challenging, inspiring, growing, and transformational semesters we will experience in our college career. I want to take this moment and give sincere and deep gratitude to Marcus Young, our amazing Art for Social Change teacher, mentor, and friend. I also want to thank all of the behind the scenes HECUA staff who put in so much work to make these programs happen for students. I also want to thank all of the community artists and guests that came into our space to teach us something we normally would not have learned if we did not share space and build community throughout this program. Finally, I want to thank all of my fellow students in the program who helped shape me as a person and an artist. Read More »

Most Tuesdays, our classes meet at Clouds in the Water Zen Meditation Center in St Paul. We gather in their meditation space and use cushions in replacement as chairs. We sit in a circle so we all feel like we have equal opportunity to learn and participate. We also start off every single class with a mindfulness meditation. Sometimes they are just about a minute or two of silence, or sometimes they are about a ten-minute meditation that Marcus leads us through with his words and his calm soothing-sounding bell. This is a good practice to productively do nothing and be centered versus unproductively doing nothing and just sitting on your phone. While this tool does not always work for everyone, I appreciate that we are given an opportunity to be gentle with our minds and our bodies in an educational setting. This was a perfect transition into meeting our guest visitor for the day, Thea Lee. Read More »

Working as a social media intern at MRLF, I have been exposed to a vast network of affiliates and worker organizations and their efforts in union and worker movements. From Education Minnesota’s district education town hall forums with local representatives, to Amazon worker protests organized by Awood Center, I have nonstop exposure to what is happening in the worker world. Read More »

Honestly, I could not have found a better program than HECUA's The New Norway: Globalization, National Identity and Politics of Belonging. With HECUA, I managed to do an independent research about integration and belonging of Syrian refugees in Norway which is now going to be the thesis for my sociology major. Read More »

From the many interactions I've had, I learned that everyone we meet is broken somewhere inside them. I learned that no matter how put together or perfect a person's life may seem, they have all experienced deep hurt and pain. With that being said, I also learned the power of speech, in voicing in your troubles, and the potential positive effect this can have. Read More »