The all-inclusive HGSE Experience is about opportunities beyond the classroom. We asked several students to share their experience with different social organizations. Sawyer Hogenkamp is in HGSE’s Human Development and Psychology master’s program and shares his experience as a member of the HGSE Rural Educators Alliance.
Tell us about your organization:
We intend to create a space for students interested in rural education to discuss some of the challenges facing rural schools today and how we can utilize the tools provided to us through HGSE to be effective change makers in those spaces. Additionally, we will raise awareness throughout HGSE of the conversations around rural schools in order to ensure that all HGSE students have the knowledge of rural schools necessary in order to bring that into their future work.
What events or programming do you have planned for the year?
Our first event will be an informal event with a student panel of rural educators who will share their diverse experiences in rural education and raise awareness of some of the issues in rural education. We hope to bring in guest speakers from many other rural contexts to shed light on rural schools. Our capstone event will be a virtual conference held next spring, where we hope to host a series of events that allow both students and experts to network and share their research and rural education programs.
Why did you join this group?
I’m a product of a rural public school in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. For me, I noticed that most eyes are fixated on improving the discrepancies within urban education, but rural education is comparatively neglected, even though rural schools around the world are consistently disadvantaged as a group compared to schools in city centers. So, I wanted to help form a dedicated community of HGSE students who are interested in rural education and help build connections with rural education practitioners and researchers with the common goal of improving the prospects of rural students.
How is the online format of your organization different from the in-person format?
If we were in person, we would be booking spaces, arranging catering for events, etc.… But now, virtually, we are not bound by spatial and food constraints! We hope to connect to people who otherwise would not be able to travel to campus in person.
HGSE Admissions Blog 