Take action for human rights in our Connecticut communities and beyond
Prerequisites: Eligible for students that are accepted and have committed to the HRCH program
Human Rights Close to Home (HRCH) offers high school student fellows leadership development through a one-year, stipend-supported program. Student fellows learn and share human rights knowledge and civic engagement skills in order to plan and implement civic actions in their own communities. Students from across the state of Connecticut are welcome to apply.
Up to twenty Connecticut high school student fellows will participate in a one-week residential leadership institute focused on human rights and civic engagement. You will explore human rights issues, considering how they relate to your own lives, and develop knowledge and skills to contribute to civic action projects in your home communities. K-12 teachers from across Connecticut will learn about human rights and civic engagement alongside you throughout the week. You will learn from HRCH staff as well as human rights faculty and staff, community based organizations, and youth activists.
After the summer institute, working in teams or individually during the school year, you will engage in a human rights-based civic action project. Receiving close guidance and supervision from HRCH staff, college student mentors (undergraduate or graduate students), and community mentors, you will learn about local human rights issues, gain practical experience, and develop valuable skills you can apply to future human rights and civic engagement work. You will return to UConn 2-4 times throughout the year to meet with the other student fellows and work on your civic action projects.
HRCH is working in close partnership with UConn Pre-College Summer (PCS). PCS will support Connecticut high school students during the HRCH Summer Institute on the UConn Storrs Campus,
Human Rights Close to Home offers high school student fellows leadership development through a one-year, stipend-supported program. Student fellows learn and share human rights knowledge and civic engagement skills in order to plan and implement civic actions in their own communities. Students from across the state of Connecticut are welcome to apply. Applications for the 2025-2026 HRCH student fellowship are due February 28, 2025. Only after accepting and committing to the HRCH program, may those eligible students enroll in this PCS course. For questions regarding the the HRCH program please see contact information here.
Sessions Offered
Session 2: July 6 – July 12
Course Fees
Format
Residential, Non-Credit
Related Courses
See Courses here
This class is meant to be immersive and students will experience:
- About human rights and human rights violations
- How to take action to promote human rights
- Practice taking action for human rights with support from HRCH staff as well as other HRCH participants
- Meet with community based organizations, youth activists, UConn faculty, and government leaders
- Visit a human rights site off campus
- Join a growing community of human rights and civic action leaders in Connecticut
Meet the Professor
Sandra Sirota, EdD, is Director of Human Rights Close to Home at UConn's Dodd Center for Human Rights and Assistant Professor in Residence in human rights and experiential global learning with the Human Rights Institute. Her work explores human rights and social justice education in formal and non-formal settings in the United States and South Africa. Her current research, funded by the Human Rights Institute, focuses on how youth-led social movements may disrupt systemic racism in education. She is conducting a new research project in conjunction with Human Rights Close to Home. Sandra’s recent articles have been published in Open Global Rights, Comparative Education Review, The Journal of Human Rights, and Prospects. She serves as Book Review Co-Editor for The Journal of Human Rights and Faculty Coordinator for UConn’s Early College Experience in Human Rights.
Sandra has collaborated and consulted with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and other human rights and education organizations. She is co-chair of the executive committee of the University and College Consortium for Human Rights Education. She earned her doctoral degree from Columbia University Teachers College’s Department of International and Transcultural Studies with a concentration in peace and human rights education. She completed her master’s degree in international human rights at the University of Denver Korbel School of International Studies and her bachelor’s degree in anthropology at Cornell University.
