When first-years Padah Vang and Joann Bandales began the Bridge Scholars Program at Colorado College, they were amazed by the life stories their peers shared with the group. Bridge has provided many students with a platform to open up about defining moments in their past that they have wanted to share. As more and more of their peers opened up this year, Bandales and Vang began to feel a strong sense of community.
When the Bridge program ended, the two first-years decided they wanted to bring the community-like feel to the entire campus. Within the first week of school, Vang got the idea to start a Facebook page in the style of the famous blog, Humans of New York. The blog, which has amassed over 10 million followers on social media, features pictures from people all over New York accompanied by a blurb about their lives. The quotes are generally quite personal and detail something significant about each person’s past or present.
When Vang first proposed the idea of a Humans of Colorado College page to her friends, they were incredibly supportive. Bandales helped pioneer the idea and became co-founder, and four immediately hopped on board, volunteering to conduct interviews and take photographs of students around the CC campus. A senior friend of Vang’s lent them a nice camera to take high-quality headshots of their subjects.
Humans of Colorado College officially launched on Facebook on Sept. 5. In the 17-odd days since, it has garnered wide support from the community, amassing over 1,200 followers on Facebook.
The interviews posted on the page feature students from many different backgrounds and in various grades. They tell stories of students’ struggles to get to CC, and their experiences during their time here. Several students shared personal anecdotes that their peers may never have heard otherwise. One athlete explained the anxiety he feels before competing and the visualization techniques he uses to overcome his nerves. Another student shared his experiences with friends’ suicides and how he dealt with his losses.
Discovering these vulnerable moments, according to Bandales, is the whole point of the endeavor. “This campus is so small, you can pass by someone like twenty times in a week and not know what they’re going through,” said Bandales. According to Bandales, sharing peoples’ stories is a necessary step to connecting with one another and building a community.
In order to get the powerful and revealing quotes that uncover someone’s “story,” Bandales developed a specific interviewing technique.
“I give them two options,” she said. “Their first option is to share whatever story they want to share and whatever story they feel like people should hear about them… The second option is a very generalized list of questions we’ve come up with that can evoke responses that (are) inspiring.” These questions include, “How has CC changed you?” and “What makes you special?”
Part of HOCC’s mission is not to censor their interviews before posting them. Vang and Bandales mentioned that at first they were hesitant to post an interview with a cuss word, but they did it anyway because they felt like it was important to the truth of their subject’s life.
“Each point of view is valid,” said Vang.
So far, the online community has been incredibly supportive. All the comments and feedback HOCC has received have been positive. Several alumni have even reached out to the founders, expressing a hope to see alumni interviews posted over Homecoming weekend.
Presently, HOCC is not yet a registered club on campus, but Vang and Bandales are hoping to apply for a grant to buy their own camera equipment. They welcome new volunteers and plan on reaching out to them in late October, after they have fallen into a rhythm of constant posts. Interested students should visit http://www.facebook.com/humansofcc and message the page for more information.