Jack Russo aka “Snooki”

I am a senior in the Residential College at Michigan and my major is Social Theory and Practice. After a few classes in religious studies and urban studies, I decided to synthesize the two for my senior project. I am currently working on my project, which is focused on an initiative of the United Methodist Church called “Detroit Villages.”

Detroit Villages is a church planting initiative that employs a house-church model. These ecumenical house-churches are intentional communities with a primary purpose of missional service.  Motivated by faith, residents choose to relocate to these homes where they live with like-minded individuals who are committed to community development. I am exploring the internal function of the house-church model as well as its interaction with the outside community.

I am interning at Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative and working on the development of the Connor Creek Greenway, a nine-mile bike/walk path from the Detroit River to Eight Mile Rd. I am excited to be living in Detroit and working on the greenway as I prepare to enter an Urban Planning/Real Estate Development graduate program in fall 2010.

My fondest memory is backpacking through northern India and I look forward to skiing Snowbird, Utah next month!