Senior Chelsia Neto moved across the globe, from her home country of Angola to Caldwell, to attend The College of Idaho. Yet it was a ten-minute move from the College to the Caldwell Housing Authority that really pushed her outside of her comfort zone.
“Being at college kind of makes you feel safe from the real world, we have our own little Yote community,” said Neto, a business administration major. “Being in a completely different environment is challenging. Navigating into a new family and a new community, engaging so many different ways to contribute to that community, that helped me to grow as a person.”
She was one of four students from the College, joining Yaxeny Lopez, Jessica Martinez, and Jasmine Stanciu, to live at CHA (commonly known as Farmway Village) this academic year as part of a research project. For Neto, it became more than homework.
“Leaving college, it really exposed me to being in the real world and being in a different environment,” she explained. “They (the residents) treated me like family. They made sure to take care of me. They were wonderful neighbors.”
The research project is a three-year collaboration between the Anthropology & Sociology department at the College and the Caldwell Housing Authority, an affordable housing complex for agriculture workers in Canyon County. Students had to advance through an application process to be selected. Four students then move into an apartment at the complex for the entire academic year in order to immerse themselves into their new community and their research. The students remain enrolled in regular classes at the College and also had regular meetings with Sean Blackwell, Jen Wallin-Ruschman, and Aaron Weiss, the faculty advisors for the partnership.
“The whole idea is to give the students the world,” said Blackwell, an assistant professor of anthropology and sociology at the College. “Opportunities like this just don’t exist elsewhere. I have never heard of anything like it for students: live for free and get paid to design their own research projects. As long as it is about affordable housing and it adheres to an annual theme, they (CHA) are happy.”
Neto’s research focused on housing security in the area and its impact on workplace productivity. Each of the four students focused on different aspects of life at Farmway Village and they presented their research at the College’s Student Research Conference earlier in May. Once the conference was over, Neto organized an event at the complex with the help of the other researchers, who served as mentors for the children who attended. The event, “Spring into Creativity,” was equal parts art and science. Kids were given various items and encouraged to use their creativity: drawing, painting, and building. It was up to the kids.
“I wanted to find a way where I could bring higher education to the kids,” Neto explained. “A lot of those kids, since they come from farm families, they don’t always dream of going to college.”
Neto called it a huge success for all involved.
“I had kids who were already engaging with me two days before (the event). They were all running to my car, ‘Is it now, is it now?’” Neto laughed. “On the day of the actual event, we were still setting up but the kids came out two hours before and they just sat around the tables, waiting.”
The excitement, the engagement, and the energy made it a memorable afternoon for many involved.
“I think my favorite part was seeing the interaction between the mentors and the kids. On the day of the event, I had volunteers talking to me, saying thank you for organizing it,” she said. “I haven’t gone home in three years now and being here seemed like I was home. These kids reminded me a lot of the kids at home. My family members as well as other kids.”
There is one year left on the original grant between the College and CHA. Blackwell is hopeful that the partnership is extended, allowing growth in the program to impact more students as well as more people living at the complex just ten minutes northwest of campus in Caldwell.
“They became a family,” Neto concluded. “It’s a very fun place that I don’t think, if I didn’t have this opportunity, I wouldn’t even know about the community.”
The College of Idaho has a 132-year-old legacy of excellence. The College is known for its outstanding academic programs, winning athletics tradition, and history of producing successful graduates, including eight Rhodes Scholars, three governors, and countless business leaders and innovators. Its distinctive PEAK Curriculum challenges students to attain competency in the four knowledge peaks of humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and a professional field—empowering them to earn a major and three minors in four years. The College’s close-knit, residential campus is located in Caldwell, where its proximity both to Boise and to the world-class outdoor activities of southwest Idaho’s mountains and rivers offers unique opportunities for learning beyond the classroom. For more information, visit www.collegeofidaho.edu.