Houston Honors College hosts panelists speaking on healing in immigrant communities, Nov. 4, 2025 in Houston, Texas. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
The Honors College teamed up with the Graduate College of Social Work to present their upcoming consumer service program, Project Rise.
The Project Rise stands for Resilience, Identity, Support and Empowerment. It was founded by Honors students Brandon Than and Haley Romine.
“Rise is a social learning program that’s targeting the development of emotional awareness skills in children from immigrant families,” Than said.
The presentation featured panelists who contributed to the development of the project.
Than was selected as a recipient of the 2025–26 Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, which provided funding for Project Rise, said Attorney and senior lecturer in the Honors College Michelle Belco.
“The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Houston-Galveston’s goals of fostering healthier communities and empowering immigrants were a key factor in their incentive for creating the project,” Belco said.
ASFHG is a community service organization dedicated to providing resources and support to immigrant communities in Houston and Galveston.
When Than and Romine were researching potential community partners, they met Executive Director of Casa Matao and UH alum Monica Holtkamp.
Holtkamp graduated from UH’s Graduate College of Social Work in 2013 and later joined ASFHG. During her time there, she explored what the concept of safety means for individuals experiencing displacement.
This led Holtkamp to establish Casa Mateo, a shelter for immigrant mothers and children who have experienced trauma.
“Migrant mothers wanted services that would help uplift their children,” Holtkamp said. “They wanted their children to go to school. They wanted their kids to get medical care, to be vaccinated — services that were not readily available to them in their countries.”
Holtkamp introduced the Honors students to the immigrant population she serves, and the three began daily meetings and site visits.
During these meetings, they met Graduate College of Social Work professor Jodi Berger Cardozo, who researches resilience-building in immigrant communities.
Honors College assistant professor Janet Lawler served as Than and Romine’s academic mentor, teaching them social-emotional learning techniques used to develop lesson plans aimed at improving communication skills among migrant children.
Than and Romine will now be bringing Cardozo and Lawler’s curriculum to Casa Mateo.
“The curriculum will be adopted into a three-month program,” Than said. “We are going to have engaging activities that will build resilience and communication skills.”
Before activities begin, mentors will conduct an emotional check-in, allowing students to express their emotions for the day.
The first activity will involve creating “appreciation stations,” where children move around the classroom and write compliments or letters of appreciation for their peers.
Next, students will be divided into groups and tasked with solving riddles and clues around the Casa Mateo building to uncover a secret treasure.
Finally, students will be given a ball of yarn and read a series of prompts. If a statement applies to them, they will toss the yarn to another person, creating a visual web of shared experiences.
“Our goals are to build trust and connection, and for children to practice empathy and kindness toward their peers,” Romine said.
After participating in the activities, students will have a five-minute journaling session to reflect on their experiences.
The program is set to begin soon, sometime in 2026, said Than and Romine.
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