Humans of ULeth helps students connect
U of L student’s project has attracted hundreds of followers on social media
University of Lethbridge student, Richard Lee-Thai was looking for a way to connect with people on a deeper level when he started Humans of ULeth in October.
Since then, the blog of photos and short stories has gained hundreds of followers on social media.
Twenty-year-old Lee-Thai began following the Humans Of New York (HONY) blog years ago by Brandon Stranton that he modelled Humans of ULeth after. He gravitated towards the idea that HONY had of connecting with people and storytelling.
“Everyone has a story to tell, and I wanted that platform to be able to showcase that,” said Lee-Thai.
For the first two months after transferring to the U of L from the University of Calgary to get his bachelor’s degree in music, he still felt lonely being new to Lethbridge and being a student.
Since there was already a Humans of Lethbridge photo blog by Tourism Lethbridge, he wanted to focus on university students as there wasn’t a Humans of ULeth yet.
Lee-Thai started out interviewing a few friends and residence assistants on campus, and from there he asked them to recommend other people. Through the project, people opened up to him about their personal lives and their stories, and that’s what he’s passionate about so he knew he was working on something special.
“When talking to others, you can tell when someone is really passionate about something because their eyes light up, their tone of voice and body language changes,” said Lee-Thai. “Then you know you’ve landed on something that’s meaningful and unique to that person.”
So far, Lee-Thai has photographed and interviewed just over 30 people on campus.
He feels he’s learned so much from interviewing other people and hearing about their life experiences.
One student who reached out to him just before Remembrance Day was part of the Canadian Armed Forces and wanted to share her story.
Marissa Hsu, a bachelor of nursing student, always knew she wanted to join the military and it made her realize she wanted a career that was for a greater cause.
“If this platform hadn’t existed then she would’ve never had the opportunity to tell her story,” Lee-Thai said. “Things like that really make me feel fulfilled in this type of project.”
Lee-Thai feels it’s important for him to have a wider perspective of what being a student at the U of L is actually like and what the day-to-day student might go through.
“After I’ve interviewed someone, that’s someone that I know and feel connected to now,” he said.
“If I see them again in the hallways, we’ll wave to each other, or they’ll tell me what a great job I’m doing with the project, or recommend someone else to me that I can connect to and interview.”
There are two things that he wants to come out of Humans of ULeth: For the reader to resonate and connect with it; and provide a platform for people to share their story.
He thinks both can be very empowering, and that’s what he really enjoys about this project.
With his passion for connecting with people and storytelling, Humans of ULeth seemed like the perfect way to him to bring all of those elements together.
“I feel that through all of those interactions that I’ve become a part of the community, and that there are people I can call friends. I feel a sense of belonging here.”
When he graduates in a few years, he still wants to continue Humans of ULeth because he feels it’s important to have that as part of the community.
To become a follower of Humans of ULeth visit his Instagram @humansofuleth or his Facebook page Humans of ULeth.