Ginsberg Center E-Newsletter

Spring/Summer 2009

Nine Semester in Detroit Students Extend their Stay and Spend Summer in the City
By Kemba Mazloomian

SID 2009 students (from left) Jessie Hernandez, Salam Rida and Jenna Lyn Utter greet a fellow student after dinner in Detroit's Greektown neighborhood. Photo by Elizabeth Leal.

When the Ginsberg Center's Semester in Detroit (SID) program celebrated the end of its inaugural semester this April, more than half of its 14 students did not have to say goodbye. After four months living, studying and working in the city, nine SID students had decided to stay on for the summer or the next year.

"SID's goal is to help students develop a deep connection to the city," SID Associate Director Craig Regester said. "While staying in Detroit after the semester ends is not a requirement, and we know some students have other plans, the fact that a number of students stayed shows that the program offers the opportunity to develop those kinds of connections."

SID students live together at Wayne State University and take classes at Wayne State and/or with University of Michigan faculty. In order to deepen their involvement with the city, each student interns with a community organization for 16 hours a week. In 2009, students worked with a range of arts, economic development, political and youth organizations, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Detroit, State Representative Rashida Tlaib's office, the Detroit Urban League and WDET-FM public radio.

Four of the students who remained in Detroit extended these internships, while five found other positions. Those who stayed cited their growing interest in the city and their positive experiences during SID.

Elizabeth Leal, who graduated in May, decided to spend this year working as an AmeriCorps member with Heritage Works, a Detroit-based cultural arts program, after she was inspired by mentors she met through SID. Leal’s curiosity about the city was piqued while she tutored at a Detroit elementary school with America Reads, also a Ginsberg Center program.

"The school that I tutored at was only eight miles from my [parents'] house," Leal said. "I thought about the elementary school I went to, and there was such a great disparity between them I couldn't believe they were only separated by eight miles."

Diana Flora, another SID alumna, now works as an AmeriCorps member with Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan. Flora said that after a summer internship at a homeless shelter in El Paso, Texas, she wanted to learn about how poverty, urban sprawl and other issues affected Detroit.

"Detroit fascinated me, not because of its problems, but because of the way communities came together to make creative solutions," she said.

Visit the Semester in Detroit website or see a video about the program.

Ginsberg Center E-Newsletter

Nine Semester in Detroit Students Extend their Stay and Spend Summer in the City By Kemba Mazloomian

Spring/Summer 2009 Table of Contents

Nine Semester in Detroit Students Extend their Stay and Spend Summer in the City
By Kemba Mazloomian