Being Not-Rich at the University of Richmond
My remote internship at Common Ground has come to an end, and I am proud of what I have accomplished in the past six weeks. I have created a 22-page guide entitled “Being Not-Rich at the University of Richmond.” This Google Doc features 30 categories that low-income students may need guidance about to help them manage their limited finances. It is intended to be a crowdsourced document with places/websites to get affordable products and services. It is still in draft form, but it will soon be completed and linked to Common Ground’s website.
When my supervisor first told me about this project, she had only a vague idea about what the guide would look like. My observations and contributions throughout the summer developed her original idea. For example, I focused more on online resources due to social distancing restrictions and the fact that transportation options to and from campus will be limited.
Throughout my internship, I promoted this guide in social media, including GroupMe chats and Facebook groups. All of the responses I received were supportive. I also received many valuable suggestions from students, faculty, and alumni. A faculty member in the psychology department reached out to me about a project that she is working on: a Blackboard page with all of the campus resources sorted by category. She identified the same barrier as my supervisor and I: there are many resources on and around campus, but students may not know about them. Our projects aim to introduce students to those opportunities. Throughout my internship, I learned about several resources on campus and in Richmond that I had never heard about after 3 years of being at UR. This faculty member was wondering if she could share my documents with other faculty and staff who are working on the project with her, and if they could link to it from their Blackboard page. It was exciting to collaborate with a faculty member who is working on a similar project, and to have an opportunity to advertise my guide to more people.
“Being Not-Rich at the University of Richmond” is available to view here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_kxEZh_Q81D-D0QBQKY-gURrsLMckKLxp-v8VFdnE7s/edit?usp=sharing