High-impact experience: Live, learn and work in Detroit

September 2, 2025 (Volume 49, Number 1)
Article by Marissa Feil

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Marissa Feil, a senior majoring in sociology, was among the Grand Valley students who spent the summer on the state's east side, participating in the University of Michigan's Semester in Detroit (SID) program. Housed in Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies, SID provides a high-impact experience for students in any major. Participants live, learn and work in Detroit while earning 12-15 credits. Below, Feil discusses her time in the SID's 30th cohort.

Finding community away from home
I chose to do this program because I was looking for a summer internship that was close to home. I learned about the program and Grand Valley’s involvement while working as an office assistant for Brooks College. 

When I was accepted, I spent time working with program directors Rose Gorman and Craig Regester to find my internship placement, hoping for a human resources-related experience.

Rose helped me to connect with Allied Media Projects, a larger nonprofit that helps other nonprofits find their footing. AMP was looking for an intern in its operations department. The skills I gained from my internship will be immensely helpful as I move forward in my career journey. My internship was an eight-minute drive away from our apartment. I was able to work in-person and remotely. 

The SID classes were taught by four University of Michigan professors. There are many opportunities to explore Detroit through class field trips, cohort days and adventures outside of the program. I learned so much from the guest speakers and volunteer opportunities at various nonprofits, including A Host of People, Keep Growing Detroit and the United Community Housing Coalition. 

My favorite part of the program was the connections I made with my peers in the cohort. SID is composed of students from all three U-M campuses and GVSU. We faced hardships together (like cooking a dinner for 50 people in a barely functional kitchen) and had lively conversations and debates during our classes. 

SID is a program where I found the meaning of community in my internship, the city and, most of all, my peers. 

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