Haley Beverlin is a 2022-2023 Fellow. She is an Architect I at SmithGroup. Learn more about Haley below.

This photo was taken on our first day of orientation in the beautiful Chroma building. Being in this space with a 360 degree view of Detroit was inspiring to kick off our year!

Murals in the Motor City

We started our tour at Tech Town, a co-working space that is Challenge Detroit’s homebase for doing work on Fridays. Jeanette Pierce, with the City Institute, was leading our tour of Detroit that day, and you could feel how eager all of the fellows were to begin our second day of orientation. Jeannette noted different buildings, landmarks, and stories along the way. I was staring out of the window, so amazed that I have grown up just north of Detroit my entire life, but there was still so much rich history to learn.

One of our first stops was at the Georgia Street Community Collective, a non-profit organization that uses vacant land to create spaces for community members to come together. Meeting Mark, the founder of GSCC, he told us the story of how he has worked to build an urban farm, garden, and a community center on 17 lots in the City Airport neighborhood. It all started with him cleaning the lots and getting inspired to make a difference within his community. In awe of the space, the mural on the wall said “plant a seed, and watch it grow,” I was inspired by how far incremental change could go. Slowly but surely, through hard-work and dedication, Mark had created a magical space that was going to benefit his community for the better. It was here that I was first exposed to just how important community leaders are in Detroit. There is a trust and solidarity that binds residents together, and those relationships fostered what is now a common space where residents can come together and grow. As we walked towards the bus, I was excited to continue our day and see what other spaces we would visit.

Georgia Street Community Collective Mural

After lunch, we traveled to Old Redford, an unforgettable area that I had been to before. Like many places in Detroit, this area is covered with murals everywhere you look. Artist Chazz Miller has used his city as his medium and created an incredible experience within this neighborhood. Listening to the stories of how intentional development in this neighborhood was happening was exciting to me. Walking into the Obama Building, we stepped into a corridor and my jaw instantly dropped.  Hung in the middle of the space was a gorgeous mural of Barack and Michelle Obama dancing together. As we learned about how the Obama building was lifting up local entrepreneurs and becoming a space that can bring people together, I was mesmerized by the small strips of newspaper articles that were embedded into the painting. All of us were invited into Faness, a nail salon in the Obama Building. It exemplified how unique each tenant was; and trust me, I will be back there to get my nails done soon. 

Being a fellow gives us the opportunity to authentically Live, Work, Learn, Lead, and Play here. As we stepped off the bus, Jeannete handed us a card that read: “Detroit is big enough to matter in the world and small enough for you to matter in it.” That quote has stuck with me since that day. We learned so much about the city of Detroit through the lens of leaders that are impacting their community in positive ways which is one of the things that is so rewarding about Challenge Detroit.

Barack and Michelle Obama Mural by Chazz Miller

About Me: My name is Haley Beverlin, and I am from Hazel Park, Michigan. I attended the University of Michigan and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture, with a minor in Sustainability. (Go Blue!) Along with being a Challenge Detroit Fellow, I manage the social media for the non-profit, Architectural Salvage Warehouse of Detroit (ASWD); I love learning how to create content and manage what to post.

 Why should someone apply to be a Challenge Detroit Fellow?

Challenge Detroit provides the opportunity to do meaningful and authentic work with like-minded, driven peers. Each Challenge Project teaches you the importance of lifting up Detroiters’ stories and thoughts. Throughout the year, new skills and insights are gained, and connections are made. The relationships you build within the community and with your “fellow, Fellows” are irreplaceable.