When he was applying to colleges, Sean Killackey sought out education programs that would prepare him to teach diverse populations.
“But then, as I got deeper into the application process, I thought maybe I didn’t want to teach—I wasn’t sure,” says the rising U-M sophomore who ultimately joined the first cohort of LEAPS students. He was drawn to the program’s flexibility. Killackey figured that with a LEAPS major, he could teach if he wanted to, but he would also be prepared to pursue other areas of interest, like law or public policy.
“I knew I wanted to do something involving working with people. Even if I didn’t want to teach, I figured the program would give me a good foothold to figure out what I wanted to do next.”
Over the course of his freshman year, Killackey got to know the city of Detroit through learning from and collaborating with community partners including Founder/Executive Director of Umoja Debate League, Jerjuan Howard, and Darnetta Banks, a lifelong Fitzgerald neighborhood resident who serves as the President of the Ella Fitzgerald Park Conservancy. He also heard from guest speakers like City of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. These engaged learning experiences helped him make meaning of the lessons he learned through reading and discussions in the classroom.
