A Makerspace for Grieving Students: An Exploration of Memory and Making for Bereaved Students at the University of Georgia

With origins in grief counseling, conversations regarding continuing bonds have supported and encouraged a connection between the living and the dead as a means for processing loss. Some bereaved individuals turn to physical mediums, such as archiving the belongings of the deceased or creating original artwork, to remain connected to their loved ones and find peace in their wake. As student success librarians, we aim to view students holistically, acknowledging aspects of their identities that lay beyond the scope of their academic endeavors, including aspects pertaining to grief and loneliness. In order to help students develop and succeed at university, we must greet the difficult circumstances being faced beyond the classroom as a segment of the student body is traversing campus while mourning the loss of a parent, grandparent, sibling, or friend. Through makerspace programming, this project explores the relationship between continuing bonds and creation by providing supplies and training for students to develop personal keepsakes, including buttons, magnets, and laser cut images and messages in memory of those they have lost. Implications for grief programming in makerspaces will be discussed alongside student feedback from the event.