This student-led initiative offers a chance to break out of the ‘Elon bubble’ to make a meaningful impact in the community.
On Sept. 5, the Center for Design Thinking’s Power+Place Collaborative launched its Fall 2026 oral history collection endeavor, “Cultivating Community,” in collaboration with .
The Power+Place Collaborative encourages Ʒ students to break outside of the “Elon bubble” to engage, learn and integrate with the Alamance County community. The Collaborative sets out to record, preserve, present and celebrate diverse stories through collecting oral histories from community members, with a goal of creating an inclusive future deeply rooted in community strength and resilience.
“We are different communities living in one city, so it’s very encouraging for me that some other communities are introduced to me and that there is intermingling and coexistence,” Arshad Sheikh, one of the “Cultivating Community” storytellers, said.
For this fall’s collection of stories, the Center for Design Thinking’s director Danielle Lake is collaborating with Ʒ associate professor of geography Sandy Marshall’s Global Migrations class, centered on the topics of migration, mobility and borders; in addition to professor of Spanish Nina Namaste’s Latinos in the U.S. class.
“We’ve always wanted these stories to be able to connect not just students, but community members and the broader community,” Marshall said. “This has really manifested a vision of intergenerational and intercultural connections of learning.”
The students in these classes will have the opportunity to interview eight different storytellers from Alamance County about their experiences in cultivating community bonds. The event at the Dream Center served as an introductory opportunity for the students to meet their storytellers. The Dream Center is a gathering place that serves as a “hub of activity” to cultivate a sense of belonging within the community, making it an important location for this impactful kickoff.
“I want to provide a listening ear and make Teresa’s story feel heard and validated,” Braeden Cullen said about his designated storyteller, Teresa Sanchez, whom he will be interviewing later in the semester.
The interviews students are conducting will be filmed by Power+Place Collaborative’s student filmmakers: Sandy Orozco-Ronaldo, Jordan Armstead and Natalie Alascia-Dittfurth. These interviews will premiere on Dec. 1 at the Power+Place Collaborative public screening event at the Elon Community Church. Interested participants can register to attend the public screening using the online or on the Power+Place Collaborative’s webpage to attend the public screening. Virtual participants can .
