Salem State Students Tackle Community Projects Across City

SALEM, MA — A cohort of Salem State University students spent the past academic year applying classroom work to projects throughout the city as part of the Humanities Brigade initiative.

The university launched the program last fall with support from a $480,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation. The program brought together nine first-year students for integrated humanities coursework, community-engaged learning, and 120-hour paid summer internships focused on social justice.

Over the year, students partnered with The House of the Seven Gables and the North Shore Community Development Coalition. Their work drew on courses in American studies, art history, philosophy and media studies, and included projects tied to museum accessibility, historic preservation, resident services, community storytelling and neighborhood research.

The program was created to help students view the humanities as both an academic path and a practical set of tools for civic life, professional work and community problem-solving, especially for students from area school districts who may not know the range of careers connected to the field.

It was designed by Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello, a professor of American studies and interdisciplinary studies at Salem State.

"We've partnered with these two organizations all year long as a way for the students to not just get to know the community, but also to see firsthand how the work we're doing in the classroom and in the humanities bears out and has relevance in the real world," Duclos-Orsello said. "They're bringing their humanities skills to bear in the work they do with these two organizations."

In the spring, students worked with North Shore CDC on the Faces and Places of The Point project. Students conducted interviews and community research to help inform a future initiative highlighting the people, places and stories of Salem’s Point neighborhood and its Latino community.

In the summer, students continued that work through internships that included developing historical content, supporting public programming and helping expand the Punto Urban Art Museum's storytelling efforts.

"Our partnership with the Salem State Humanities Brigade program has been incredibly meaningful," North Shore CDC Chief Program Officer Lisl Hacker said. "The students bring energy, creativity and a genuine commitment to their internships at the North Shore CDC, which in turn strengthens our work and deepens our impact."

At The House of the Seven Gables, students reviewed the site's audio tour through accessibility and historical interpretation, documented oral histories connected to settlement programs and contributed to preservation planning, according to the university.

Student Mia Polanco said the experience helped shape her future.

"I was extremely unsure about my next steps after high school," Polanco said. "I saw the Humanities Brigade as a way to gain some understanding of what I want to do with my life."

Salem State said the Humanities Brigade is open to incoming first-year students interested in the humanities, and the university will welcome its second cohort this fall.