NVU’s Learning and Working Community provides a wealth of connections for students and extends the reach of the university out into the greater community at the same time. Faculty whose students are taking part in internships and work opportunities with our partners note that those students bring the experience they gain back into the classroom.
When students engage in multiple-month work experiences in a studio, running sound for concerts, teaching outdoor ed activities to fifth graders, and taking part in fieldwork restoring wetlands and buffers, for instance, they understand what it means to be an educator, to work in the arts, to work in the field in their field. It’s valuable not only for learning what it’s like to do that kind of work, but if that work is really for them. Students then bring this depth of their experience back to their courses, enriching class discussions for all.