Last week, nearly two hundred freshmen returned to Hopkins to participate in an intensive week of coursework and field trips around Baltimore. Through the B’More Program, students became more connected with the city by studying issues of particular importance and interest.
“Intersession 2011 marked the fourth year of the B’More Program,” Summer and Intersession Programs Director Jessica Magrigal explained in an email to The News-Letter. Featuring fourteen courses, (in Humanities, Social Sciences, Earth Sciences, Education and Public Health).
“[Bmore] introduced freshmen to Baltimore through their course lectures, trips, guest speakers and community involvement,” Madrigal wrote.
Madrigal outlined the history of the program: The program was created by Dean Paula Burger, and it began as a result of feedback from the Senior Exit Interviews/Surveys where graduating seniors stated that they wished they had gotten to know the city sooner in their undergraduate years. Throughout the years, the B’More Program has been funded by the Parents Fund, the Krieger and Whiting Schools and Homewood Student Affairs.
The program is only open to freshmen because the students participate in “social, cultural and academic activities that are designed to increase class spirit among the freshmen,” Madrigal said. “The program has become an extension of freshman orientation and we hope that students will find opportunities to meet more of their class.”
Many freshmen enjoyed the unique atmosphere that this program tried to offer. “What I enjoyed most about the B’More Program was meeting new people with similar interests and experiencing the relaxed atmosphere of intersession,” freshman Ruthie Barrows said.
When the first B’More Program took place in 2008, it registered just under 50 students, and this Intersession the number rose to 160, the largest class yet. The program has developed substantially over the years. “[It called] students to action by creating service-learning opportunities in agencies with a close tie to their course’s content,” Madrigal said. In past years, community service activities were not directly tied with course content, leaving students with a bit of a disconnect.
“[Students are now able to] identify ways that the city can contribute to their overall education,” Madrigal said. For example, the Urban Schools Today course took a field trip to Waverly Elementary/Middle, which is just down the block from the Homewood Campus. The Spare Change/Make Change class examined homelessness in Baltimore, and Scott Gottbreht, the instructor, invited two homeless men to come and speak with the students. The homelessness class also volunteered at the Maryland Food Bank where they helped process food donations.
“I really did feel more of a connection with Baltimore after,” freshman Rachel Cohen said. “Coming to Hopkins, all I really knew was the Inner Harbor and that was about it. Now I’ve learned about a lot more places I actually want to explore.”
Due to the snow, the University cancelled classes on Thursday the 27th, and some classes and trips were cancelled on Wednesday. “Two days of my B’More class were cancelled,” freshman Elizabeth Mash, who was enrolled in Urban Schools Today, said. “Unfortunately, they were the two fieldwork days of our class, but the general concepts covered in the course were interesting.”
“We missed most of our field trips into Baltimore City because of the snow, but we were able to visit City Hall,” Burrows said.
“When we had the snow day, I was actually upset because I really wanted to go on the trips we had planned to volunteer with elementary school students,” said course assistant for Urban Schools Today junior Dominique Duval.
Duval commented on how this course expanded her knowledge on a subject that she was already quite familiar with. As a student in the Baltimore City Public Schools and former school board member, Duval was a great asset to the urban school course. “It was great seeing the students’ earnest discussions and thoughtful questions,” Duval said. “The vast majority of the students did not come from urban school districts so I was really happy to see that they were exposed to knowledge about urban schools. I was happy to see that they cared about what was being done to effect change.”
Madrigal considers this year’s program to be a great success. “[It was a] collaborative effort that brought instructors from the School of Education, Bloomberg and seven departments from the Krieger School,” Madrigal wrote. “Already we are seeing freshmen become more engaged in the city.” Many freshmen are returning to the Maryland Food Bank or participating in the Center for Social Concern’s Alternative Spring Break Program and many other programs that the CSC runs.
“B’More taught me about the dynamic city of Baltimore,” freshman Erica Fuhrmeister said. “It has its own identity, unique from any other city on the east coast.”
“There was a Baltimore bus tour this year that wasn’t there my freshman year, and I am not joking when I [a Balitmore city-native] say that even I learned things about Baltimore City,” Duval said.
“We anticipate that B’More will soon become a signature program, shared eventually by most of the class,” Madrigal wrote. “We hope that it will be such a powerful learning and bonding experience [and that, looking back,] students will consider it one of the most memorable features of their years at Hopkins.” The B’More program will soon start reviewing student feedback in the hopes of continuing to improve the program year after year.
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