The Humanities Engagement Scholars program empowers undergraduates through the humanities and prepares them for future professional endeavors. By cultivating a broad perspective and engagement across the university and beyond, HES enriches students’ academic journeys and inspires aspirations for a promising future.
HES kicked off the 2023-2024 academic year with a successful Spooky Humanities Open House. Students enjoyed engaging talks by professors on a diverse array of topics and courses offered by humanities departments.
Additionally, HES students had the opportunity to participate in a book club on “Teaching Black History to White People,” by Leonard N. Moore. Through close reading, developing discussion questions, and relating the texts to their own experiences, students engaged with Moore on both academic and personal levels through a lunch meeting before his public lecture as a part of the center’s 2023- 2024 speaker series, “Scales of Belonging.”
HES also supported undergraduate research events such as “Tea Talks: Spilling the Tea on Research in the Humanities,” where students from various majors presented their research to peers. The program also facilitates access to internships and local events. For example, HES student Em Petlev completed an internship with the Invisible Histories Project that captured the experiences of minority community members in Florida. At the end of the spring semester, the center celebrated the accomplishments of three graduating HES students: Gavin Angove, Kayla Conde, and Hafsa Ouaakki.