Graduate Students Explore Richmond Beyond the Classroom

Graduate students come from all over the world to study at VCU each year. While many can explore the city and take in its unique culture and history, others are hesitant to venture beyond the classroom and spend the majority of their time studying on or near campus. Dr. Erin Brown, Richmond native and Director of Professional Development in the Graduate School has made it her passion project to expose graduate students to the city through the Richmond Series. The interactive professional development series encourages students to meet Brown in the city and have fun developing their leadership and civic engagement.

The series started during graduate student orientation with a session entitled, Experience Richmond. During the session, students learned about the history of Richmond from Patrick Henry’s ‘Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death’ speech to the slave trail as well as the best places to eat and drink in the up-and-coming food city. Other activities off-campus included a table at the RVA Big Market in August, a graduate student section at the Squirrel’s game, and a tour of Jackson Ward with local historian Gary Flowers in September. 

Chris Shepperd, a second-year Master of Social Work student from Austin, Texas, moved to Richmond this summer and has attended several of the Richmond Series events. He said of the experience, “I attended because I moved here anticipating to be here a long time because it's where my fiancee is from. I'm wanting to learn about the city and get comfortable with my surroundings with this transition. There aren't that many opportunities geared for grad students as far as orientation and creating community. I enjoyed these particularly and was interested because they were not exclusive to the college but were geared toward learning about the city and integrating in the community. Being a little older, and grad school vs undergrad, I'm not going to attend a "school social" or "campus event" but these events of just being things-to-do in the city was great.”

In addition to hoping that out-of-state students like Chris take advantage of these opportunities, Dr. Brown has worked with the Global Education Office to promote opportunities with international students who are not only new to Virginia but to the United States. She said, "My goal is that every graduate student feels a sense of belonging at VCU and also here in the city. As a native Richmonder, I love this place and know that it has so much to offer if students only give themselves a chance to experience the city beyond campus. I also believe that our talented students can enrich our city in many ways. It is really mutually beneficial."

The Richmond Series culminated this fall with a talk by noted author and speaker, Reverend Benjamin Campbell on October 16th. He discussed his book, Richmond’s Unhealed History with an audience of students, faculty, and staff. The talk helped shed light on how and why the city is the way it is today. Each attendee received a signed copy of the book. The Graduate School plans to continue the series as an annual opportunity to engage graduate students each fall.