What started as a community psychology assignment has exploded with 290 likes on Facebook and 265 followers on Instagram.

Originally, Humans of Umass Lowell was under the care of 3 upperclassmen. However, as there enrollment waned to an end, the upperclassmen wanted to pass on their class project to those who were capable of maintaining it. However, years prior, Michaela Goss and Katrina Desrosiers had decided they wanted to do something similar to complete their Honors requirement. When the chance came, the girls jumped at the chance of getting interviewed and were chosen as the new owners of the Humans of UMass Lowell webpages.

This dual Honors Thesis/ English Capstone has taught the young ladies about the styles of photography and how to write intriguing and positive articles based on interviews.

The meeting goes as follows- The ladies identify random people at UMass Lowell and ask them if they want to be interviewed for about 5 to 6 minutes. A random question generator chooses the questions each participant will receive. There is a list of infrequently asked questions that is chosen from. The interview starts with 5 random questions (e.g. What’s your favorite color?) and 1 thought provoking question (e.g. What does success look like to you?). This is based off of Humans of New York. Then whoever is interviewing will take a photo of the interviewee however that person feels the most comfortable.

In an interview with Michaela Goss, she told me that the goal of these interviews is to create a sense of community by showcasing the amazing people at UMass Lowell. Although social issues aren’t addressed, they do attempt to bring a sense of unity to the campus by allowing people to say whatever they want and capturing the essence of that person through the corresponding blog and the picture that goes along with the blog.

Here is a link to my own interview.