When people from different walks of life come together to learn, powerful transformation can occur.
In January 2026, YWCA Lethbridge was honoured to partner with the University of Lethbridge to deliver a sociology course in Gender, Social Inequality, and Justice. The class was facilitated by Dr. Kara Granzow, Faculty of Arts & Sciences, who is deeply passionate about publicly accessible education opportunities, and about fostering a strong sense of connection between post-secondary institutions and the community that surrounds them.
The course structure was inspired by Walls to Bridges, an organization that delivers for-credit post-secondary courses to campus-based and incarcerated students together, towards advancing critical thinking and social justice, while working to expose the social forces of criminalization in our society.
University of Lethbridge students and YWCA program participants were invited to register for the course – which ran from January to April 2026 – and introduced perspectives born from lived experience to the core principles of the study of gender, barriers and inequalities of the greater society, and how justice is impacted by these factors.
One of the goals of this pilot project was to begin to break down societally imposed divisions, and to impress upon the students that people from all demographics are far more similar to each other than dissimilar. Only when conversation begins to expose those similarities can the light of understanding shine on the human experience, and pave the way for authentic, long-lasting human connections and mutual responsibility.
During their final session, students expressed how impactful they felt this course to be on dissolving preconceived ideas, building a community with their peers, and thinking outside of a campus-based environment. Expressing her feelings of this pilot project being very successful, Dr. Granzow says that students had the chance to reflect on their own lives in a context that encourages broader pattern recognition, something beyond the textbook, making this a very powerful learning experience for both herself and for the students.
The University of Lethbridge has expressed deep gratitude for the opportunity to partner with YWCA Lethbridge on this meaningful pilot project, which has laid the foundation for continued partnership rooted in equity, shared learning, and lasting community connection. The University of Lethbridge is eager to explore opportunities to collaborate with many partners in the future, planning to run a second edition of this course in Winter 2027, and continuing to build bridges between post-secondary education and the broader community.