Experiential Education
Apply Your Learning Outside of the Classroom
Integrated into every facet of your K experience—from your classes to your clubs—our hands-on teaching will ground your knowledge in practical skills. This experiential approach to education enables you to connect your studies with real-world situations and projects, which further strengthens your abilities and builds your confidence for post-graduation success.
Whether it is enhancing neighborhoods while learning about historic architecture, using your Spanish to tutor students at a local bilingual school, interning at a community center while studying abroad, or researching in a professor’s lab for your Senior Integrated Project, you will learn by doing.
Many of these experiential learning opportunities are also deeply rooted in social justice, which is at the heart of a Kalamazoo College education. By learning with and from the Kalamazoo community you will gain a richer understanding of our deeply complex and diverse world.
How it Happens
Civic Engagement
Empowering you to form meaningful community relationships within Kalamazoo, the College has strong partnerships with local schools, governments, advocacy groups, artists and activists. The Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) connects students with community partners dedicated to social change. The CCE works with your professors to design service-learning courses that weave experiential projects into your curriculum, they fund and support student-led programs in the community, and they facilitate paid summer internships with city planners and non-profits committed to human rights, reproductive justice, food equity, youth development and more.
Working with 40+ community organizations, the CCE and other civic engagement programs prepare you for life after K by exposing you to different perspectives, teaching you how to be a contributing member of society, and giving you tangible experiences and skills to leverage throughout your career.
Student Leadership
You and your peers are what makes K, K. To make campus a place you feel at home, we encourage you to take ownership in strengthening our campus community. We see students take on leadership roles everywhere: starting a new student organization, running for student government, working as a peer tutor, mentoring first years, and working an on-campus job.
To make our campus and the world a more equitable place, you can plan, create and implement social justice work at the College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. They also offer a host of programming to develop your knowledge and skills in community and political organizing.
These experiences offer you a safe environment to develop your leadership style and the skill set to transform your ideas into action—with plenty of faculty and staff support should you need it!
Professional Development
To help prepare you to enter the world after graduation, we want to expose you to various career paths, develop your professional background to successfully enter the workforce, and impart transferable skills to adapt to wherever your career takes you. Many of these opportunities are fostered by the Center for Career and Professional Development, which provides personalized career coaching and assessments; assistance on resumes, cover letters, job searches and mock interviews; a drop in Career Studio whenever you need it; and numerous opportunities for you to explore different industries, like chatting with K alumni in your field through our Hornet Huddles.
At the end of the day, employers are looking for graduates with the skills honed by your K-Plan: problem-solving, communication, work ethic, adaptability, teamwork and leadership. The professional experiences you undergo at K help you further develop your strengths, find your interests and articulate your value.
See our Experiential Education in Action
Collaborate in Student Organizations
Form bonds that matter with student organizations like K’s Chemistry Club. Members find affinity with like-minded students and inspire the next generation of scientists through community events—like demonstrating UV protection with color-changing beads at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum and exploring viral structures with virtual reality headsets at the Air Zoo. Our formula? Curious scientists combining classroom elements with hands-on outreach. The result? A compound effect of learning that extends beyond campus, nurturing lifelong passions.
Explore Your Path with Internships
Apply your classroom learning to real-world experiences at K with a life-changing internship. Kelvis Quaynor ’25 transformed his entrepreneurial dreams into reality through a Community Building Internship with local incubator Startup Zoo. From connecting with top venture executives to helping organize regional business summits, Kelvis discovered his capacity to thrive in professional spaces he once thought unreachable. Our internships don’t just build résumés—they build confidence, skills, networks and self-discovery of who you can become.
Grow into a Confident Leader
At K, we trust you to take the reins on the projects you love. Emerson Wesselhoff ’25 has bloomed as a leader with roots planted deep in her passion for sustainability. On study abroad in Thailand, Emerson taught elementary students how green spaces combat pollution-related health risks. As a city intern, she led the first Imagine Kalamazoo Reads, focused on environmental engagement. And on K’s Climate Action Plan Committee, she advocates for campus climate initiatives while cultivating commitment to sustainability in her fellow students.