When rising Communication sophomore Kaleb Chaney was looking for something to do over the summer, he wanted something “active” and social justice related. Engage Chicago fit the bill. 

Engage Chicago is a Northwestern summer field study program run through the Chicago Field Studies department and Center for Civic Engagement that gives college students the opportunity to explore community development and social change in the classroom and internships throughout Chicago. 

“Our goal is overall to expose students to the people that make Chicago great and the people that are working towards all the important change that’s happening and working to make this a more just city for everyone that lives there,” Center for Civic Engagement assistant director Lindsay Wall Succari said. 

Wall Succari said Engage Chicago began over 15 years ago as a way to provide NU students with opportunities to engage with and explore the city of Chicago. Between 30 and 60 students participate in the program each year, she said. This summer’s program ran through mid-August.

The program provides students with a “living learning program” where they take a class for credit, complete an internship, take part in service projects around the city and learn from community members, she said. 

“One of the driving questions of the curriculum is how is Chicago a just and livable city?” Wall Succari said. “And how is the city succeeding in that goal in making it a just and livable city and where’s the city being challenged in that goal?”

Wall Succari said the curriculum explores topics like the social and political history of Chicago, the current political landscape, services and initiatives surrounding education, the environment and the legal system, and how each part supports the residents of Chicago. 

There are featured events and seminars that are led by an accomplished practitioner in advocacy, community organizing, health and medicine and urban planning. 

Engage Chicago and Chicago Field Studies Prof. Liz McCabe said she helps students understand the different approaches of improving community health and resilience by focusing on Chicago history.

Some topics covered this year included the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Jane Addams Hull House, history of housing policy in the city and environmental climate justice. 

“I hope they take away the richness of possibility in the city of Chicago and what can happen when you stay curious and open to learning about a place and its communities and its history,” McCabe said.

Alongside McCabe’s class, students are matched to internships with nonprofit organizations, government institutions or social enterprises based on their interests, learning valuable skills and developing a professional network. 

Chaney’s internship is with Here to Stay, a community land trust organization that retains low to moderate income legacy affordable homeownership to interrupt displacement and gentrification of Black and brown communities.  

“When a really expensive property is next to other properties, it raises property taxes which causes people to be kicked out of their homes because they can’t keep up because income isn’t rising with it,” Chaney said. “By using land trusts to keep it at a steady rate, people have it for generations to come.”

Chaney said Engage Chicago brings in outside speakers to speak on their experiences. There are also sponsored trips to local attractions like the Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen, he said. 

Students are housed in the heart of Chicago at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. They are also encouraged to explore Chicago because they are given unlimited CTA transit cards.

“I like learning so much about Chicago and going forward so I can give back to the community,” Chaney said. “We learned that (giving back) is an equal trade. It’s not (just) giving back to the community because you’re learning, you’re earning and gaining just as much by volunteering.”

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