FutureHeights interns stage student event on Lee Road

CWRU students in front of Lucky Sparrow Tattoo. [photo courtesy Nathan Merritt]

FutureHeights interns Nathan Merritt and Karen Kearney staged a professional development event for fellow students on April 15 in the Cedar Lee Business District. Both are graduate students at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences (MSASS) at Case Western Reserve University.

“Our goal for the Cedar Lee Community Immersion event,” said Kearney, “was to enable students to learn more about Cleveland Heights and the businesses and restaurants that are located there. We also hoped to get young people more engaged with the community and find out how they perceive it.”

The students met at the BottleHouse Brewery, where they received instructions for a scavenger hunt. Sruti Basu, director of community-building programs at FutureHeights and an MSASS graduate, gave a brief history of Cleveland Heights and the Cedar Lee district. She then surveyed participants to find out what they already knew about the area.

“Many of the students knew the names of a few businesses on Lee Road, but that’s about it,” said Kearney. “The scavenger hunt was a fun way to help them learn more about Cleveland Heights.”

The scavenger hunt took participants to several locations in the district where they had to acquire an item, such as a napkin or business card, to prove they were there. They were also asked to answer questions about Cleveland Heights: For example, “Name a business that has been around for more than 20 years,” and “Name a business that has just arrived on Lee Road.” 

Scavenger hunt participants had to take pictures of themselves along the way. One task, for example, was to take a picture of the coolest wine bottle at The Wine Spot. 

The group met back at the BottleHouse at the end of the evening to share and reflect on their experiences. Kearney, who completed her FutureHeights internship in April, said that future interns will plan similar events for the summer and fall.


 

Nathan Merritt

Nathan Merrrit is an intern at FutureHeights and a graduate student at Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.

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Volume 9, Issue 6, Posted 10:22 AM, 05.30.2016