At the University of California, Santa Cruz, belonging became a community-wide research effort. The university’s We Belong Project brought together undergraduate students, faculty researchers, immigrant families, and local organizations to examine what belonging means for immigrant and mixed-status families in Santa Cruz County.
The project used an approach developed at UC Santa Cruz called Community-Initiated Student-Engaged Research (CISER). Unlike traditional research, which often begins with questions developed inside the university, CISER allows community organizations to help identify the issues that deserve attention. Students, researchers, and community partners then worked together to gather information, interpret the findings, and share what they learned with policymakers, service providers, and residents.
Through We Belong, students conducted more than 100 in-depth interviews with community members of immigrant and mixed-status families. Many of the student researchers came from immigrant families themselves, giving them personal insight into the experiences they were documenting. Their research examined physical and emotional well-being, economic security, legal status, access to services, and the places where families experienced belonging or exclusion. The methodology and a peer-reviewed study of the project detailed the collaborative approach.
Students and university researchers shared their findings through public presentations, digital storytelling, community resources, and an immigrant justice event in downtown Watsonville. The gathering combined the outcomes with a resource fair, cultural performances, games, and activities, turning the dissemination of academic research into an opportunity for community connection.
This project offers a practical model for institutions seeking to strengthen their sense of belonging. Students were not simply asked whether they felt included. They became researchers and knowledge producers whose work addressed concerns identified by the community itself. Students see their experiences and cultural knowledge treated as valuable expertise, while community members help determine what the university studies, and that the information is shared with the very people whose lives informed it.
