Teaching empathy and courage

Teaching empathy and courage

Co-op collaboration with Cincinnati's Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center

When two University of Cincinnati students help children decorate crowns on a Saturday morning at the Cincinnati Museum Center, they are doing more than crafting art - they are helping teach kindness, courage and empathy.

Sydney Kraus and Lindsay Person both serve as co-op students at the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center (HHC) inside the museum center at Cincinnati's Union Terminal.

The students help lead the museum's Superhero Activation, a family-friendly activity that encourages children to become "upstanders," people who stand up for others and make a positive difference in their communities.

Lindsay Person UC fourth-year anthropology major

The activity is held just outside the children's museum area, intentionally separate from the Holocaust exhibits but still carries the center's message of moral courage.

"We don't talk about the Holocaust with them," explained Kraus, a third-year psychology student minoring in Judaic Studies. "We're just putting motivational words out there for them, teaching them to be upstanding people."

Turning play into purpose

Every weekend, Kraus and Person guide children at an activity booth where kids decorate crowns printed with words like love, hope, creativity and humor. "We talk about what those words mean and how they can help others," Kraus said.

Kraus says the experience has been "really special," particularly seeing children light up as they grasp new ideas about helping and caring for others. "It was awesome seeing these little kids get so into it … explaining what they think a superhero is," she says.

The students also hand out informational pamphlets to parents, encouraging them to visit the museum to learn more about its mission. "It's about showing how these small lessons can plant a seed," Kraus said. "When the parents read about what we're doing, they might think more about what it means to stand up for others."

Connecting the classroom and the community

UC co-op: By the numbers

Bridging education and experience

For Person, a fourth-year anthropology major with a museum studies certificate and art history minor who plans to pursue a career as a museum curator, the co-op offered something her previous internships did not - direct experience in museum education.

"My goal is to be a curator, so most of my internships have been focused on exhibitions or collections," Person says. "But I realized how important it is to understand the educational side. It's a feedback loop … what happens in education shapes how exhibitions connect with people."

Entrance to the Holocuast Humanities Center (HHC) with a display of Hilter looking out on the masses. Photo/HHC.

Person has completed four other internships but says this experience has helped her see how curators and educators collaborate to make history accessible.

"It's very different from what I've done before," Person says. "Working directly with kids is rewarding because they often have perspectives adults overlook. It makes me think differently, too."

Katelyn Scesney, the HHC's museum experiences and volunteer coordinator, says the co-op is also preparing the students for a new opportunity: assisting with the traveling exhibit "Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away," which runs through April 2026.

"Sydney and Lindsay's energy and passion to help promote the center's mission will now be used as visitors exit the exhibition," Scesney says. "They will encourage guests to reflect and write about how they can create positive change through big and small actions in their everyday lives. Those messages will be displayed to inspire others as they leave and encourage them to become upstanders."

Learning through compassion

Both students said they appreciate how Superhero Activation helps translate serious themes into accessible lessons for children.

"They decorate their crowns, put on capes and masks, and then we have a little photo booth," Kraus says. "They get to take a picture and bring home a magnet and a goody bag. It's fun, but it also introduces them to what it means to use their strengths for good."

The program, she says, builds on the museum's focus on "positive psychology," connecting character strengths such as love and humor to resilience and humanity.

Person added that she is excited about the new exhibit. "I want to help however I can," she says. "It's a meaningful opportunity."

Displays leading into the Holocaust Humanity Center (HHC). Photo by HHC.

A co-op with lasting impact

Student Kraus, a Mason, Ohio, native, says the co-op has deepened her interest in pursuing a life of service. After graduation, she hopes to become a rabbi - a path inspired by her studies and her time at UC.

"I think co-ops are really valuable because they bring real-life experience," she said. "For psychology students, it's not required, but it helps build critical skills. I wouldn't have those without this experience."

Person, who grew up in Pennsylvania, came to UC after spending a year traveling the country with AmeriCorps. She plans to graduate in May and apply to graduate school for art history or museum studies.

"The co-op's been such a positive experience that I'm hoping to reapply if they run the program again next semester," she said.

For both students, the partnership between UC and the HHC has shown how education - even for the youngest visitors - can inspire courage and empathy in lasting ways.

Featured image at top of Sydney Kraus and Lindsay Person. Photo provided by Kraus.

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