Summer Bridge Spotlight: Chris Getowicz
Meet Chris Getowicz, one of five participants selected for the 2025 Summer Bridge program. A Ph.D. student in education policy, organization and leadership, he worked with Books 2 Prisoners.
How have you applied your humanistic training to advance the mission of the community organization?
During my time working with Books to Prisoners, I’ve been involved in two primary initiatives. First, I was asked to collaborate with other volunteers to consider the long-term sustainability of the organization. For a volunteer-run nonprofit, sustainability depends on lasting relationships and shared commitments. Through ongoing dialogue, I’ve reflected on how delivering books to justice-impacted individuals in Illinois—and educating the public about the criminal justice system—requires intentional humanistic reflection and the recognition of a shared humanity. These principles are at the heart of the Books to Prisoners mission, which demands a deeply human and intimate connection between volunteers and incarcerated individuals. Through handwritten letters and correspondence, this shared humanity transcends barriers and constructs bridges of access to books. Holding this humanistic value at the core is key to sustaining the organization’s future.
Second, I’ve contributed to building a new, updated website. While this is partly a technical task, my humanistic training encouraged me to ask, Who is this for? As a result, I’ve collaborated with others to consider the wide range of people impacted by the criminal justice system—beyond those currently incarcerated. We’ve worked to design a website that serves the needs of individuals who can benefit holistically from Books to Prisoners, including parents, spouses, children, friends, and formerly incarcerated people who understand the humanizing power of books and education. In a punitive system often focused on past harm, it’s vital to affirm that humanity endures in the past, present, and future lives of those impacted by incarceration.
How has this experience contributed to your career development? What skills have you gained or developed?
My experience with the Humanities Without Walls Summer Bridge program has helped me think and act meaningfully beyond the ivory tower of academia. I’ve built relationships that encourage me to apply my training in history and education in service to communities outside the university. I’ve also realized that PhD training alone doesn’t equip us with everything communities need to thrive.
I’ve developed new technical skills in website design, which also challenged me to think critically about accessibility, communication, and aesthetics. Additionally, I’ve participated in public events where I needed to explain the importance of getting books to justice-impacted individuals in clear, jargon-free language. Practicing different forms of public communication has been an invaluable part of my work with the Summer Bridge program.
What have you learned from working with this community organization?
Working with Books to Prisoners has taught me a great deal about the tightly knit fabric of community in Champaign-Urbana and across Illinois. This sense of community isn’t always visible from the campus, but organizations like Books to Prisoners are deeply rooted and have long been part of a network serving justice-impacted people across the state.
As part of the Independent Media Center, Books to Prisoners belongs to a vibrant community of nonprofits that support Champaign-Urbana in diverse ways—from the arts to community radio. The organization operates entirely through volunteers, collaborating with individuals and groups across the area. While many students volunteer, the deep community roots of the organization can be difficult to see from a campus perspective. Through my involvement, I’ve come to appreciate the depth of those roots and to better recognize the community assets that exist in Champaign-Urbana independently of the university.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your Summer Bridge program experience?
I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Summer Bridge program. My experience has affirmed a strong belief in the value of programs like this. They don’t just build bridges between campus and community—they also help us see the broader possibilities of our academic work.
As someone uncertain about my future in academia, this program has helped me feel as much at home in the community as I do on campus. It has opened a horizon of possibilities I couldn’t have imagined before participating.