May 29, 2025
During the 2024-2025 school year, I worked as the course facilitator for Music Humanities courses taught on Rikers Island. I take this opportunity very seriously but do not talk about it much publicly for a variety of reasons. This was not my first time working with similarly vulnerable populations of students, and in a one-on-one setting, I am happy to talk more about these difficult yet extremely worthwhile experiences.
This brief article was originally published on the Justice-In-Education Initiative's website, but I want to preserve the text here since I admire our students and their academic accomplishments. Here on this blog post, I've shortened names to protect individuals' privacy (even though this article is publicly accessible via JIE).
Article by JIE Volunteer Amanda Morrill
Two students from JIE’s Music Humanities course at OBCC on Rikers Island were recognized by the Core Scholars Program for their exceptional essays on their experience in the Core. Emil B. was named a Core Scholar and awarded a $200 cash prize, and Prince B. received an honorable mention. Columbia College’s Core Scholars Program is a yearly competition open to everyone who has taken a Core class. Students who create exceptionally creative and well-executed Reflections are honored as Core Scholars. In their essays, students described their experiences taking Music Humanities with Dr. Audrey A., connecting the broader themes of the Core to their own life goals and conveying the special significance this educational opportunity holds for them.
Dr. A. and her teaching assistants, Roselyn J. and Amanda Lee Morrill, would like to offer heartfelt congratulations to all of the students who submitted reflections.
Music Humanities is offered at Rikers facilities through Columbia University’s Justice-In-Education Initiative. Special thanks to Mia R. (JIE’s Education and Outreach Manager) for coordinating Core classes on Rikers Island.