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A participant and a professor share reflections on IRAAS’ inaugural Summer
Teachers and Scholars Institute !
S u m m e r Te a c h e r s a n d
Scholars Institute (STSI)
participant Tameeka Weekes
shares her experience
is missing within academia
an d th is co n tr ib u tio n is
extremely important. For
example, some of the
narratives such as letters,
albums, and writings I
discovered during our visit to
Schomburg’s Rare Books &
Manuscripts Collection,
broadened how I thought of
who helped build New York
City into the great place it is
and how the history of the city
is taught.
In the midst of it all, I found
myself posing the question
“Why am I here”. At the end, I
I became a part of STSI by
was able to confidently answer
happenstance and it was the
that my purpose for being in
greatest accident to occur at a
IRAAS’s STSI program
pivotal time in my
was to help me
life. After making
rediscover who I am
I initially thought the STSI would be
a conscious
and reignite my
decision to leave
nothing more than professional
professi