DACC grant puts humanities to work

For students pursuing the humanities at Doña Ana Community College, learning may soon extend beyond textbooks and classrooms into hands-on work in the community. 

A $150,000 grant is helping the college develop new opportunities for students to apply their skills through short-term projects, while strengthening career preparation and transfer pathways to four-year institutions. 

At the center of the three-year effort is the Associate of Arts Humanities Work Experience Program, which college officials hope to begin offering as early as spring 2027. Some grant funding is planned for student stipends, although the budget and program details are still being finalized. Dr. Michelle Guzman-Armijo, dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at DACC, said the work experience program is intended to give students practical opportunities to use skills developed in humanities courses. 

“We really want to make sure that at their work placement, they're applying their critical thinking skills, that they have opportunities to collaborate with a team,” Guzman-Armijo said. 

Students could work with community organizations on projects ranging from research and outreach to developing newsletters, social media content, and educational materials. Other possibilities include documenting community stories, creating resource guides and helping coordinate events, giving participants experience they can highlight on resumes and scholarship applications. 

Some opportunities may also be available within DACC. Guzman-Armijo pointed to Vox, the college's student magazine, as an example of how participants could gain experience reviewing submissions and working alongside faculty on editorial decisions. 

Dr. Lissane Grant, chair of DACC's Humanities and Social Sciences Department, said the college is still identifying organizations interested in hosting students. Faculty members are working with career services staff to establish partnerships, and an upcoming information session will allow potential hosts to learn about the program and propose projects. 

Beyond the work experience program, the grant will support efforts to make humanities degree pathways easier for students to navigate. DACC plans to develop informational materials, update catalog resources and organize promotional activities highlighting fields such as English, history, philosophy and communication. The college is working with New Mexico State University in Las Cruces to help students understand how they can complete their first two years at DACC before transferring to pursue a humanities major. 

“One of the goals of the grant is trying to make those pathways more visible,” Grant said. 

Another component involves digital storytelling featuring professionals who use humanities knowledge in their careers, including people working outside traditional humanities fields. The college hopes those accounts will show students how communication, research and problem-solving skills apply in industries ranging from business to health care. 

Faculty members are also exploring ways to incorporate career preparation into humanities courses, including resume writing, cover letters, and career exploration. Guzman-Armijo said the college eventually hopes to connect those efforts with career and technical education programs, where students rely on many of the same skills alongside their technical training. 

“We're in a world of kind of AI and all of that. We cannot lose our humanistic skills,” Guzman-Armijo said. 

The college is considering additional activities, including presentations and hands-on experiences, to introduce more students to the humanities. Those plans are still taking shape, with an emphasis on expanding access across DACC's campuses. 

As the project develops, officials expect to evaluate its impact by tracking participation in the work experience program, students' academic progress, and transfers to four-year institutions. The assessment plan has not yet been completed. 

Students have not begun participating in the new program, so officials could not yet identify participants to discuss its impact firsthand. Grant said those perspectives may become available after the first group completes its placements. 

“It also highlights what's possible,” Grant said. “So, it gives students that opportunity to see things that are possible, dream bigger, based on the experiences that they've had.”