Pierra White
Major: Business Administration and Psychology (dual degree)
From: Detroit, MI
Most interested in: Learning about Detroit's history
Fun Fact: I love Dancing!
 
Noelle Ridley

Major: Architecture
From: Kalamazoo, MI
Why Detroit: I am excited to spend the summer in Detroit because I think it's a great city that has a lot to offer for someone at this stage in my education (I have a lot to learn) and because I want to surround myself with like-minded people!
Fun Fact: I really love spending time outdoors and hiking, biking, climbing, skiing, pretty much any fun outdoor activity.
My name is Julia Gaynor and I am a Junior from Evanston, IL in the Residential College majoring in Women’s Studies with a focus on globalization and indigenous populations. I am interested in getting to know the city of Detroit because of it’s rich organizing history and the united sense of community that continues to inspire and intrigue individuals, like me, to this day. Outside of my studies, I am an avid backpacker, backcountry skier, and cyclist—I’m pumped to get to know the city through biking around town! I am also super excited to seek out the music scene in Detroit this summer.
 
Haleigh Bauer

Major: Screen Arts and Cultures
Year: Sophomore in the RC
I chose Semester in Detroit because I have lived in Michigan my whole life and know almost nothing about the city of Detroit. I'm most excited to bike around the city this Spring and visit the Eastern Market as much as I can! A fun fact about myself is that watermelon is my favorite food!
 
I'm Chanelle Davis from Ecorse, MI. I plan on majoring in psychology and minoring in African American studies. I'm a student in the Michigan Research Community, assisting with a sociology-based research project under Michigan's family and demographics department. I love kids and want to work with them in one way or another in the future. I'm interested in Detroit because I lived there for some time and want to know more about its history and how I can become an active member in its future development. I'm most looking forward to the events that will be held throughout the spring/summer in Detroit. A fun fact about me is that I know some Tae Kwon Do!
 
Tracy Scherdt

I was born and raised in Ann Arbor, MI and I’m studying Creative Writing and Literature in the RC along with a German minor and Urban Studies minor. I’m most excited to be a sponge in the city, taking in all that it will offer me with open arms! I'm looking forward to working with and learning from Detroiters and experiencing Detroit through their stories and friendship, as well as forming my own relationship with the city, too.
Fun fact(s): I am the youngest in my family, excluding my 16 year old poodle, Chewy, who seems to be immortal. Before I was a Wolverine, I was a Rainbow Zebra, and very, very proud of that fact.
 
Hey, I'm Nick Aquino, a junior studying PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) with a planned minor in Afro-American and African Studies and Urban Studies. I'm an international student from Sydney, Australia and previously lived in Tokyo, Japan. Also, I was born in D.C., although I moved away when I was very young. I'm very excited about Semester in Detroit because it will hopefully allow me to engage with, and learn from, struggling communities directly- real world experience which I think is a necessary compliment to academic study. I believe this experience will help me moving forward in a career in public interest law.
Logan Applebee

I am a rising junior majoring in Program in the Environment. I am from Ovid, MI, a small town with more cows than people. Environmental and transportation planning are the focus of my studies. I love baseball and swimming, I volunteer at a leadership camp and I'm a member of Epsilon Eta, an environmental professional fraternity. I'm interested in Detroit because I want to learn more about urban life and communities. By participating in Semester in Detroit, I will have an opportunity to immerse myself into the city and culture, learn from the community members and make myself a more understanding person.
Fun Fact: I'm obsessed with House of Cards.
 
My name is Jordyn Fishman. I am a student in the Penny Stamps School of Art and Design. I am interested in Semester in Detroit because I have an instinctive, gut feeling about the city. When I am there, it feels right. The city has a pull on me that continues to strengthen my yearning to be a part of the Detroit community.
 
My name is Danielle Weitzman and I am a junior studying architecture with a minor in urban studies. I am from Cleveland, Ohio. I am most excited about getting to know Detroit better this summer while studying and working in the community.
Fun Fact: My favorite TV show is M*A*S*H
 
Brittany Simmons

Majors: Social Theory & Practice, Spanish
From: Belleville, MI.
I'm interested in Detroit because: the media always portrays the city in such a negative light, and I know that there is so much more than that.
Fun fact: I play trumpet in the Michigan Marching Band!
 
My name is Tamara and I'm part of the Program in the Environment major with a concentration in Public Health. I'm from Ann Arbor and went to Pioneer High School right across the street from the Big House! I'm interested and excited to spend my summer in Detroit because it has been my next door neighbor for 20 years and I've never really spent time there or learned about the history of the city. I'm also excited to live in and get to know a new city for a few months because I stayed in my hometown for college. A fun fact about myself, and I don't mean to brag, but my first concert was Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers. Clearly I need help with my musical knowledge, another good reason to live in Detroit for the summer.
 
Adrian Choi
Hometown: Edison, NJ
Studying: Cognitive Science, Urban Studies, Computer Science
I'm excited for Detroit because: it's always been a city that I've been interested in. Many people say many different things about the city, and so I want to know for myself what I think of it and learn from its people and the internship I'll be doing.
Fun Fact: I like to go for a run at really late; there was once I went running at around 2:00 in the morning.

 

Kenneth Daniel
Major: Business Administration
Hometown: Detroit, MI
Why Detroit: I want to learn more about the city I grew up in. Local history is not taught in America's public school system and I feel that being immersed the middle of the city will be the best way to learn about it.
Facts: I went to the same high school as Big Sean, Cass Technical High School.
I am a Peer Advisor for Michigan Community Scholars Program.
You should follow me on snapchat: biggkenn
 
Leah Schneck

I’m a sophomore in the Residential College, majoring in Social Theory and Practice with a minor in Music, from Chicago. Growing up in Chicago I have always been a city kid. I am excited to add another city to my understanding of the ways urban areas function and to explore the amazing food and music of Detroit! I am also looking forward to using my Spanish and while working in Southwest! Fun Fact: I got to meet President Obama when I was 8 years old.
 
Hi, I'm Jason and I am from Redford, Michigan! I am majoring in Social Theory and Practice within the Residential College, focusing on the role of music in activism. I also happen to be a student DJ for WCBN FM Ann Arbor! I am most excited about coming into contact with many of the cultures represented within the city of Detroit, especially those that involve music!
 
My name is Cydney Hill and I am from Detroit, MI. I am majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Community Action and Social Change. Being a resident of the city, I have not had the chance to explore the city that Semester in Detroit has to offer. I am excited about what the spring/summer term has in store.
FUN FACT: I want to travel around the world but I am scared of flying.
My name is Will Rainey. I’m a rising Junior in Civil Engineering and looking to minor in Urban Studies and Sustainable Engineering. I hail from Boise, Idaho but I’m no couch potato. I enjoy the outdoors, especially hiking in National Parks. I have had only a limited experience with Detroit, but I’m ecstatic to really dive into everything and anything Detroit has to offer. I love learning about the history of cities, specifically the architecture, by walking around the city. I’m interested in how cities can be more sustainable and I’m intrigued by what Detroit is doing with green architecture and sustainability. I’m excited to see both what I can do in Detroit and what Detroit can do for me!
 
My name is Sara Cusack and I am a double major in Chinese Studies and Cognitive Science focusing on Language and Cognition. I am also pursuing minors in Translation Studies and CASC. I'm from a little town just outside of Grand Rapids called Ada. Things to know about me are that I still haven't figured out how to keep my fingernails clean, and I really love pizza. I'm excited about spending my summer in Detroit because because I have spent the past three years living so close to the city but not knowing much about it and I think that often it's easy to get wrapped up in your own life and pay attention to only the things that are immediately important to you and lose sight of the larger picture. More generally, Michigan is amazing in the summer and I'm excited to spend time playing outside and riding my bike and getting to know a new landscape. A fun fact about me is that I'm really good at spitting cherry pits!
 
My name is Jyoti Graber and I am from Norwich, Vermont. I am currently a freshman in the Residential College and, although I have not declared, I am anticipating majoring in Cell and Molecular Biology and Comparative Literature with a minor in Spanish. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to live and work surrounded by culture and energy of Detroit this spring. I am especially excited to spend time exploring the city’s different neighborhoods and learning about their history from the people who live there. I am also looking forward to diving into the food scene in Detroit because I love cooking, eating, and trying new things.
 
I am Katy Greer, a rising Senior from California. I am studying Psychology, Women's Studies, and IGR and hope to go on to work in the social work and non profit organizational field in the future. I am very excited to spend my summer in Detroit, meeting new people as well as exploring a new city, while learning from and working closely with the people at my internship. A fun fact about myself is that it really blows my mind that we don't know what's on the bottom of the ocean and fish are my favorite animals.
 
Greetings all! I am Hollyn Formosa and will be starting my fourth year at the University of Michigan in Fall 2016. My areas of study include French and Francophone Studies and International and Comparative Studies, and I have a strong interest in pursuing a minor in Urban Studies. While I grew up Downriver (Southgate) -- an area of Metro-Detroit, south of the Detroit River -- I have continued, familial ties to the city, specifically the historical neighborhood of Corktown. Detroit fascinates me -- the history, the culture, the movements for justice for the people -- that is why Detroit. I have seen the ways in which my adolescent comprehension of the City has transformed into a recognition of the unjust practices reproduced within the social, economic, and political realities of our world. I only hope to become further engaged in Detroit's history of social justice and activism, in an enduring way.
 
My name is Claire Wixson and I'm from Battle Creek, Michigan. I am applying to the School of Public Health's new undergraduate program to hopefully major in public health sciences. I'm interested in Detroit because although I have grown up in Michigan, I have spent very little time there. When I came here for college, I met a lot of people from there who love it. I'm really excited about immersing myself in
the city, helping others, and building relationships with all the people I meet. A fun fact about myself is that I cofounded a charity benefit youth music festival back home my senior year of high school.
 
Valeriya (V) Epshteyn has claimed Kharkiv, Ukraine; Oak Park, Michigan; Walled Lake, Michigan; and Ann Arbor as homes. A rising senior studying Environmental Justice via Program in the Environment, V is committed to building and living in intentional cooperative communities. V cannot wait to write, run, and learn in Detroit.
 
Bridget Vial
Hometown: Royal Oak, MI
Studying: Environmental Engineering, Urban Studies, Sustainability
Hailing from a Detroit suburb, I've always been enamored by the city's ability to facilitate arts and culture, community engagement, and sustainable living via its density and rich history. This summer, I'm looking forward to biking all over the city!
 
Fun fact: I can sing all of the Pip's back-up vocals to "Midnight Train to Georgia" with or without a Gladys Knight.