Profile Unit

The Profile Essay is my favorite to teach. It is an unfamiliar genre to most students, which levels the playing field. At the core of this assignment is empathy. You will interview and subsequently write about a person whose lived experience is different than yours, with the explicit aim of "walking in someone else's shoes." You will practice oft-neglected skills, such as interviewing,  crafting questions, and listening while trying to organize your fieldnotes into a more complex structure. It is a challenge; however, most students cite this project as the one that they are most proud of.