Summer Bridge Spotlight: Erica Kolson

Meet Erica Kolson, one of six participants selected for the 2026 Summer Bridge program. A Ph.D. student in the communication department at U of I, she worked with the Tolerance Museum and Education Center.

How have you applied your humanistic training to advance the mission of the community organization?

My training in communication and rhetoric has been central to the work I have done with the Tolerance Museum and Education Center. Much of my previous research has focused on how spaces, places, and public narratives shape meaning, and I have been able to apply those ideas in practical ways while helping envision what this museum could become. Rather than thinking about these concepts only in theory, I have had the opportunity to apply them to real organizational needs.
For example, I have contributed to conversations about potential exhibits, website development, and building relationships with community partners. Throughout these projects, I have drawn on my humanities training to think about how people experience spaces, how stories are communicated, and how a museum can genuinely serve its surrounding community. It has been rewarding to see how rhetorical and humanistic research can directly inform decisions that will shape a public-facing organization.

How has this experience contributed to your career development? What skills have you gained or developed?

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This experience has strengthened the way I think about community-engaged research. As I continue developing my academic career, I want my research to be something that benefits the communities I work alongside rather than simply producing publications. Working with the Tolerance Museum and Education Center has shown me how collaborative research can create more meaningful and reciprocal relationships between scholars and community organizations. I have also developed several practical skills throughout the fellowship. I gained experience with website development, conceptual exhibit planning, and even creating architectural concept sketches to help visualize accessibility and design ideas. These experiences have broadened my understanding of how humanities research can translate into community projects.

What have you learned from working with this community organization?

While much of my previous research has intersected with what I now recognize as a framework of "tolerance," through my work this summer, I have developed a deeper understanding of this concept and how integral it is to connecting a wide range of issues. I have come to realize that issues of tolerance are often treated as separate - whether by historical time period, geographic location, or demographic - but they do not have to be. Overall, I now recognize the importance of structuring around the idea of "Tolerance Building" to strengthen communities, whether that means designing research, a museum, or even a conversation. You do not have to share the same lived experiences or identities to connect through broader themes of resilience, empathy, and understanding.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your Summer Bridge program experience?

One of the most eye-opening parts of the Summer Bridge experience was discovering how many organizations and initiatives throughout the greater Champaign-Urbana community connect with the kinds of questions being explored by researchers on campus. Before participating in the program, I do not think I fully appreciated how many opportunities exist for meaningful collaboration between universities and community partners. The fellowship highlighted the value of building those relationships and demonstrated how humanities research can have an impact well beyond the university.

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