Many of the first-year students in the Milstein Program in Technology & Humanity in the College of Arts & Sciences (A&S) are busy preparing to head to New York City for their summer experience at Cornell Tech.

But before they left, they completed a host of first-year projects, engaging with community members, crafting innovative assignments and sharpening their skills with various technologies, as they do every year.

Students in the program have cross-disciplinary interests in technology and other fields. The program selects 25 first-year students each year and offers a supportive community of engaged learners, speaker series along with core courses, unique short courses, mentorship, career development and funded research opportunities, including the eight-week immersive experience at Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island. 

First-year students worked on various special projects this year, including audio stories about members of the community and spring projects focused on a campus need, niche or interest. Several members of the class shared their work as part of a Spring Writes literary festival session focused on storytelling, a collaboration with local arts organization Story House Ithaca.

“Every student worked with a community member to craft a short personal audio narrative,” said Austin Bunn, associate professor of performing and media arts (A&S) and director of the Milstein Program. “I’d never done anything like this before and could not have done it without the help of Story House co-directors Lesley Greene and Jonathan Miller. But having been a journalist, I wanted students to exercise their curiosity and empathy and then develop the stories sonically in collaboration with the storyteller. It was wonderful to see the students listen so closely and learn about this place, who lives here and the adventures of their lives. They did a fantastic job.”

Read the full story on The College of Arts & Sciences website.