BU, Cornell, and MIT Cross Campus Collaboration on Re-Entry
On April 15th, MIT hosted us and the Cornell Humphrey Program at its Endicott House in Dedham for a full-day joint workshop focused on re-entry. In April of last year, the three programs had gathered at MIT’s Cambridge campus for a dinner and sessions focused on the same theme—and we all had agreed it was a great initiative that needed more time to implement well.
Our day began at 9am, with introductory remarks by the coordinators and then an exercise led by BU HHHP director Jack McCarthy, in which everyone paired up and introduced themselves to one another.
We then went outside for “Pipeline”, a group problem solving & communication exercise in which teams race to transport marbles down lengths of half pipe or gutters and into a cup. Each participant has only one short length of pipe each, and no one may carry the marbles; the marbles must advance by gravity alone.
After lunch, we all divided into groups to discuss “The Process of Reentry” by Professor Gary Weaver of American University.
This joint workshop served in both tangible and intangible ways. The sessions facilitated focused reflection and discussion about the challenges of returning home, and Fellows also appreciated the gathering of three cohorts; there is a euphoria that fills a room full of Humphrey Fellows, and that magnified by a factor of three gave everyone a warm and powerful sense of ceremony to help contemplate the past year and start shifting their focus to the road ahead.
