Launched in Fall 2021 More Than A Single Story: UM-Dearborn Speaks is a digital storytelling project offering students experience in media and other digital technologies that allow them to explore their identities, purposes, and communities through self-reflective storytelling. Funded by the Coalition for Life Transformative Education and the Office of the Chancellor, the project provides students with a chance to share their stories while challenging the myths about Dearborn, the Detroit Metropolitan area, regional commuter campuses, the surrounding Muslim-American community, and the impact of COVID-19 on the region.

Stories matter. They have the ability to empower or dispossess, bestow prestige or tarnish reputations. The more storytelling communities can offer, the more they are able to shape outside perception. In addressing the audience, storytellers also gain a better understanding of themselves. This project not only develops and cultivates storytelling skills in our students but helps them reflect on and be intentional about their decisions and plans. Graduates from this program will learn how to mentor others in digital storytelling and be encouraged to serve as digital ambassadors across campus and in their communities.