Campus Bridging Initiative at St. Kate’s, Day One

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to travel to St. Kate’s as a Civic Bridger, and it was such a meaningful experience. We started by sharing an identity object and telling stories about what it meant to us and how it connects to who we are, which I really enjoyed because it gave me a chance to learn about everyone and notice some cool similarities.

We also learned about the mission of Civic Bridgers and its three core values: humanity, humility, and accountability. After that, we had a workshop where we identified some “wells,” “fences,” and people in our community. Something that really stuck with me was when someone said sidewalks could be seen as a well, and I had never thought of it that way before. Later, we visited the Minnesota Institute of Art to see who was there and what the space offers to the community, and it made me reflect on how it can be seen as a civic place, not just a museum.

We also came up with a set of group agreements on how we could be respectful toward each other and have important conversations, especially knowing that everyone comes in with their own experiences and identities. Toward the end of the day, we talked about generalizations and how they can turn into stereotypes. I really enjoyed this first day at St. Kate’s and left with a new perspective on what civic places can be.