Proud Teaching Moments Today, Especially with Our Honors Refugee Literature Course. They Were Absolutely Amazing

Success! Yesterday, we recreated Fairfield University's Oak Room into a refugee experience simulation, where our students presented on Dadaab Refugee camp and the experiences of Somali refugees. They learned history, registration, living quarters, health issues, educational issues, and ways to advocate. Julie, my co-teacher who has hosted this event for years, hoped for 30 students. We counted almost 120, so it was a great success. I'm also super proud of my colleagues who stopped by to see the hard work of our 20 students. 

In short, they were limited to a few slides that were printed to trifles, and then needed an interactive activity to keep others learning about the refugee experience. The entire process took 30 minutes, and it was designed to created awareness for others, while the students also became mini-experts on their topic

Tommy, pictured above, modeled the space given two individuals in the camp, which was mapped out inside the space given to undergraduates on our campus (let's just say the spaces aren't comparable). Yes, issues of tripling in the dorm rooms is rough, but there is definitely still much more legroom. 

Next week, we come back together to reflect on the experience from their viewpoint. I was at the end and got to hear reactions, which were all favorable. 

Shout out to the First-Year Experience teams, too, for making this an event that offered credits to students, even though I met many seniors who were also interested in the subject. Love when student engagement comes alive, and thrilled to be part of this course with Julie.

I'm learning so much and would love to teach this course again.