Inaugural UW Experiential Education Showcase Honors Faculty, Students, Staff, Partners

The University of Wyoming’s first-ever Experiential Education Showcase and Celebration featured interactive displays, opportunities for meaningful conversations and a look at the important role hands-on education plays at UW.

“What we’re celebrating here today is a result of a very significant collaboration across the entire campus, and it’s an opportunity to shine a light on what matters really deeply here at the University of Wyoming -- that is, giving students meaningful opportunities to learn by doing,” President Ed Seidel said, also noting UW recently received more than $2 million from the Wyoming Legislature for paid internships.

Undergraduate students Paula Medina, of Cody, the Associated Students of UW (ASUW) president, and Owen Fink, of Powell, president of UW’s Ethics Club, also spoke on the importance of experiential education as student keynote speakers at the event.

The showcase was envisioned and planned by Ashleigh Pilkerton, a visiting assistant professor in the Honors College; Rachel Watson, director of the Science Initiative’s Learning Actively Mentoring Program (LAMP); and Nevin Aiken, special assistant to the provost for experiential education in the Office of Academic Affairs.

“I felt so fortunate to work with Ashleigh and Nevin to execute a shared dream of bringing together experiential educators, students and community partners from across academic silos and contexts to be honored for and showcase their work,” Watson says.

Leticia Henderson and Hannah Bacon, both assistant lecturers in the College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources, received the Presidential Award of Excellence in Experiential Education. Henderson and Bacon’s leadership of the Agriculture and Applied Economics Industry and Alumni Engagement Network “has transformed experiential learning and student career development within our undergraduate program, building a culture of hands-on professional engagement and meaningful student-industry interaction,” according to their nominators’ submitted remarks.

Over three semesters, Henderson and Bacon facilitated 60 experiential learning events that generated over 1,700 student engagements and more than 2,200 student contact hours.

“I am honored to receive the UW Excellence in Experiential Education Award,” Bacon says. “As an instructor, I strive to create an environment where students feel comfortable asking questions, are motivated to engage, and are supported in their success on campus and beyond. I connect course material to real-world applications through applied and experiential learning, so students leave my classes confident in their ability to apply what they’ve learned, with strengthened critical thinking, decision-making and communication skills, as well as a broadened professional network. I’m grateful to our alumni and industry partners, college, department and mentors for inspiring and supporting my commitment to experiential education.”

 

The award is significant because it highlights the work that has been done including by their team, industry, alumni, the administration and UW students, Henderson says.

 

“I would say the significance of the award is really being able to see the impact of all of the work that we’ve done, and it’s not just Hannah and me. It’s our whole team, industry and alumni,” she says. “I also would say that it’s as much our administration that supports it and our students -- their fingerprints are all over this as much as anyone else’s.”

As a result of experiential education, students have increased in confidence in how they approach answers, she adds. Freshmen in earlier classes might have issues with ambiguity but, when they become seniors, they can handle these real-world problems.

“They’re not afraid of failure, and they know that they have a team of people, not just our faculty, but the people they’ve built relationships with, whether that’s their peers or our bigger network -- they’re supporting them,” Henderson says.

Dylan Fernholz-Hartman, of Tacoma, Wash., received the Student Excellence Award in Experiential Education, which was presented to him by Vice President for Student Affairs Nycole Courtney.

Fernholz-Hartman, a director of external public affairs for ASUW, has been working with ASUW, Courtney and other administrators on the Leadership and Student Success Opportunities project (LASSO), designed to promote student access to paid internships.

“LASSO is, at its core, a wage subsidization program that connects the University of Wyoming students with Wyoming businesses through a wage match system,” Medina said during her keynote. “By covering a portion of intern wages based on a company’s capacity, it allows businesses to hire more interns or to hire more interns for the first time. This also means that UW graduates have experiences with Wyoming businesses before they leave to graduate. We also know that students who intern locally are far more likely to stay, so LASSO builds those connections early on with industries, communities and future leaders in Wyoming.”

LASSO, which began under ASUW’s previous administration with nearly $500,000 allocated, is a collaborative process with Seidel and stakeholders across campus. Fernholz-Hartman and Logan Heard, also a director of external public affairs, have expanded the project by collaborating across campus with partners including the Legislature and the Wyoming Business Council, according to Medina’s keynote speech.

Fernholz-Hartman is excited about the opportunity LASSO presents, as well as the $2 million approved by the Legislature, he said. The money, about $1 million a year for the next two years, means several hundred UW students can receive a wage match each year.

“I am very excited about the LASSO program and the potential it has to enhance the value of a UW degree,” Fernholz-Hartman said. “This program is a cross-cutting solution addressing student needs around career readiness, résumé building and gaining practical skills in the workforce. At the same time, it offers a low-cost talent pipeline to Wyoming employers and has the capacity to bolster necessary services in rural and remote communities by injecting talented, dynamic and energetic students into these communities. I think this program will do great things for students, the university and the state, and I am very pleased that, through ASUW, I have been able to support the design and early implementation of LASSO." 

The City of Douglas was recognized with the Community Partner Award of Excellence in Experiential Education. The award will be presented Monday, April 27, along with programming, says Erin Olsen, director of the Office of Community Engagement. Douglas was recognized for its “outstanding collaboration with the University of Wyoming to create meaningful community-engaged learning opportunities,” Olsen says.

Douglas has worked closely with UW faculty and students in the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources on locally identified needs, including tourism development; downtown revitalization to water systems; and economic diversification.

“It was really impressive, the amount of projects that students got to wrap their hands around. And, with that, what makes this partnership really exceptional is the city’s commitment to authentic engagement,” Olsen says.

Through the students’ work, Douglas has received data-driven insights and was provided with strategies to support economic diversification and community development.

In addition to these awards, Excellence in Experiential Education Awards were presented to UW staff and faculty members. Recipients of the Excellence in Experiential Education Awards were:

-- Honors College -- Chris Rothfuss.

-- College of Engineering and Physical Sciences -- Joe Biasi.

-- College of Health Sciences -- John Willford.

-- Science Institute -- Karagh Brummond.

-- School of Energy Resources -- Kristen Pritchett.

-- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources -- Maggie Bourque.

-- College of Business -- Nicole Choi.

-- College of Education -- Nikki Baldwin.

-- School of Computing -- Raya Hegeman-Davis.

-- College of Arts and Sciences -- Yan Zhang.

Following the awards, students, staff and faculty gave a variety of poster presentations showcasing their work in experiential education, both as individuals and in groups.

Individual presenters included both students and UW staff and faculty. Students are listed with their hometowns:

-- Amy Peterson.

-- Aurora Volkmar, of Casper.

-- Billie Chapman.

-- David Aadland.

-- DJ Lueloff, of Jefferson, Wis.

-- Elizabeth Minton.

-- Jasmin Mahoney, of Gillette.

-- Juhyeon Ahn.

-- Magdalena Moseley, of Sheridan.

-- Michaela Eddy, of Casper.

-- Nora Steinke, of Laramie.

-- Hegeman-Davis.

-- Tim Etzkorn.

-- Ami Wangeline.

-- Brian Sebade.

-- Dereck Coons, of Berea, Ky.

-- Hannah Small, of Laramie.

-- Hannah Qualm, of Buffalo.

-- Jihyun Lee.

-- John Willford.

-- Lauren Lynde, of Gillette.

-- Sarah Kane.

-- Tana Verzuh.

-- Jean-Luc Willson, of Thermopolis.

Group presenters, with students identified by hometown, included:

-- Annette Harlan and Alyssa Haime.

-- Anne Stevens; Tara Clapp; Melissa Galles; Brenae Candalaria, of Casper; and Melissa Bukovsky.

-- Dylan Chatterley, of Rock Springs; Jaylan Aliev; and Kayla Burd.

-- Pritchett and Kami Danaei.

-- Randa Jabbour and Kaden Redding.

-- Rozie Sanford, of Colorado Springs, Colo.; Ashlyn Erickson, of Worland; Peyton Wilkerson, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Jesse Prather, of Laramie; Finn McCoul, of Casper; John Rose, of Laramie; Eric Sapien, of Gillette; and Owen Hindorff, of Seattle, Wash.

-- Samantha Waller, of Basalt, Colo.; and McKensie Phillips.

-- Sarah Pence and Joy Nguyen.

-- Sarah Rundall and Joe Schroer.

-- Zhang and Devyn Crago, of Aladdin.

-- Ashlyn Elwood, of Littleton, Colo.; Talia Greco, of Lakewood, Colo.; Lucas Dillon, of Laramie; Nora Emmans, of Yakima, Wash.; Maddie Brady, of Cheyenne; and Jace Kappeler, of Cheyenne.

-- Bacon and Henderson.

-- Aiden Roth, of Sheridan; and Rose, of Laramie.

-- Jenny Ingwerson-Niemann, Abigail Eberhardt and Kaelin Goss.

-- Mike Ogden, of Casper; and H Ruckle, of Casper.

 

Interactive display tables included: Ashley Hope Carlisle and the Mastercraftsman Apprenticeship Program; Multicultural Club; and UW and Shanghai University of Sport (SUS) Nordic Ski Teams.

Students presenting with the UW and SUS Nordic exhibit included: Eliot Kramer, of Duluth, Minn.; Jack Jendro, of Andover, Minn.; Kaleb Simonson, of Lander; Ben Clough, of New London, N.H.; Hunter Pickett, of Casper; William Blair, of Casper; Mia Yu, of Qingdao, China; Freya Zhang, of Hefei, China; Danielle Taylor, of Vail, Colo.; Bettie Jin, of Shanghai, China; Gigi Mahood, of Jackson; and Kelly Xu of Chuxiong, China.

This event was collaboratively sponsored by the Office of the President, the Honors College, LAMP and the Office of Academic Affairs. Other event sponsors were the Ellbogen Center for Teaching and Learning; College of Engineering and Physical Sciences; College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources; Science Institute; School of Energy Resources; Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources; UW-Casper; Office of Research and Economic Development; Office of Industry and Strategic Partnerships; UW Foundation; Office of Community Engagement; School of Computing; and Division of Student Affairs.

For more information, email Watson at rwatson@uwyo.edu.