Spotlights
Malia Kah Shares About Semester in Detroit
December 06, 2021
Malia Kah is in her last year at GVSU studying Global Studies and Social Impact. This fall, Malia is participating in Semester in Detroit (SiD), an immersive program in which students live, learn, and work within Detroit for one semester. GVSU partners with the University of Michigan to send Lakers to join the fall cohort. We spoke with Malia to hear a bit about her experience with SiD.
How did living in the city of Detroit shape your experience?
Living in Detroit was especially immersive and an important
experience for me. Classes are centered around major topics in
Detroit, so living here and taking classes in this city really opened
[my] eyes to things not many people would expect or notice. I felt
instantly welcomed in the city of Detroit. It may be a big city but it
truly does feel like a small town. That really surprised me.
Could you tell us about your internship?
I am interning at HOPE Village
Revitalization (HVR), a community nonprofit in the Hope Village
neighborhood. HVR is an all-female organization that aims to create a
sustainable, safe, and healthy neighborhood for its citizens. While
they do quite a lot for their neighborhood, I’m specifically there to
help with their local farmers' market and data collection/analysis.
Data collection and analysis was new to me but the atmosphere at HVR
is incredibly positive and supportive that learning this new skill was
enjoyable. It didn't take long for me to feel comfortable with my
position. Each project was a new challenge, and the women at HVR
showed how appreciative and proud they were [of me]. This was
something I was really thankful for because there tends to be a
feeling of isolation within student internships, and I never felt that here.
Have you changed as a result of your experience?
I have changed quite a lot from this experience. Not only have I
been able to see firsthand some of the institutional issues and
societal inequalities in our country, but I have had the opportunity
to see how people go about creating change. It has inspired me to go
out and find like-minded people who know more than me, and to listen.
It has shown me that I truly do want a life where I am helping
communities become stronger. Overall, I would say it has also made me
a more confident person who knows myself better than before coming
here. Something this program is especially strong on is mental health.
Learning about the challenges in our world, especially in college, can
be emotionally and mentally heavy. This program was a safe place for
all of us to talk and reflect on what we were learning, and I will
leave this program having skills that I didn't even expect to gain.
SiD focuses on three principles: respect, solidarity, and
justice. How did you experience these during the program?
This whole experience has displayed the SiD principles of
respect, solidarity, and justice. From the courses and internships to
just connecting with people who are different from me in my cohort.
You learn to get comfortable with getting uncomfortable about certain
topics and discussions. You see how institutional problems are
affecting the areas of your internship and in Detroit, and you see how
activism and history tie into why people are and have been banding
together to create change. The themes of SiD are incredibly prevalent
in every experience you have and that is most likely why I have
changed as a student and as a person. I encourage everyone to consider
SiD, you will have a wonderful time, learn a lot, and look back happy
that you did. I know I am!