Emma Ryan ’23J

During the summer of 2021, I worked together with staff from CEEDS and other students to create both a tangible space where students can access new and recycled material resources for free and an online space that includes an inventory of material and non-material resources like travel or emergency funds and other financial support resources that are easily accessible to students in need.

As a summer intern, I conducted interviews with schools that already had similar spaces, current students to better understand their needs, and other offices at Smith, such as the Office of Equity and Inclusion and the Jandon Center for Community Engagement, to find out about Smith’s resources and how we might best further develop our project. I was also involved with the communication and outreach about the project through graphics, social media and work with the college web team. Our goal was to share information about Common Goods and help get the word out about the project to students who need its resources. By the end of the summer I had also helped construct an instructions manual to help train students and others who might work at the Common Goods Resource Center during the school year.

“I hope this project meets the student needs and creates a sense of community at Smith. This is the kind of work I would want to do for the rest of my life.”

In the future, I hope this project grows into a completely student-led organization that evolves Smith culture and builds a more interconnected community. One of my visions is that it become a real community space, an accessible and welcoming one, which fosters the values of sustainability of people and resources, and encourages conversation.