Connecting to campus can help students feel more comfortable being at college and find people they have things in common with. But connecting to the community may provide a larger sense of purpose and connectivity. One such way that students can get involved with the community is through the Hamline-Midway Coalition.
The Hamline-Midway Coalition (HMC) is a community-run, non-profit organization based out of the Hamline-Midway area. Their work aims to support not only the Hamline-Midway area but the city of Saint Paul as a whole.
They achieve their goals through initiatives, such as The Bee Line, which is currently working to create a 2.25 mile stretch of pollinator-beneficial, native plants that will support the local Rusty Patched Bumblebee population. Members of the Hamline-Midway area can often find the coalition hosting local events, creating volunteering opportunities and holding meetings driven by the community.
“HMC is a vehicle for neighbors to work together to build community and to nurture a thriving Hamline-Midway neighborhood, and the more people who are part of the coalition, the more effective we are and the more expansive and imaginative our work can be,” Jenne Nelson, executive director for the Hamline-Midway Coalition said. Nelson brings a decade of non-profit experience with her to the HMC, having previously worked with the English Learning Center, a nonprofit program in Minneapolis and the Como Community Council in Saint Paul.
The HMC is not only available to members of the community, but to Hamline students as well. Elisa Lopez, the Communications Intern for the coalition and a sophomore student at Hamline, wants students to know that they have a voice.
“Specifically in the Midway, the college student population represents such a significant portion of residents yet often we don’t interact much with the neighborhood around us. Many students are so quick to go downtown or to Minneapolis, or even the suburbs yet there are so many opportunities and resources right here in the neighborhood,” Lopez said.
And she is not the only one who is involved from the Hamline University community. Mike Reynolds, an English professor at Hamline, not only lives in the area, but is involved with making it a better place. He recognizes that getting involved with your community can be hard, especially for students.
“Sometimes it can be overwhelming to think, I don’t have time to go to another committee meeting or to be a member of the board … You don’t have to think about connecting to the coalition or the community as a big, huge time slot. It could just be, I’ll learn more and then join or go to things when I can,” Reynolds said. Reynolds is currently serving as the co-chair for the Transportation Committee, where they focus on a variety of initiatives, including working with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) to rethink Interstate 94.
To get involved or learn more about the Hamline-Midway Coalition, contact Jenne Nelson at director@hamlinemidway.org, Mike Reynolds at mreynolds@hamline.edu, or visit hamlinemidway.org.