The building blocks of success

At the 2025 Fall Internship & Applied Learning Student Showcase, students presented on their summer projects spanning diverse disciplines and geographies. (Photo by Addie Steel '26)

From volunteering at free medical clinics to developing artificial intelligence tools for smarter parking, nearly 100 William & Mary students combined hands-on learning with coursework this summer as part of a pilot program focused on deepening undergraduate applied learning experiences.

Offering three online, asynchronous modules and faculty mentorship, the one-credit course helped students reflect on their summer internships to inform future career decisions.

The effort is part of William & Mary's work as a national leader in preparing students for lives of meaning and distinction through opportunities like internships and applied learning.

The one-credit course was born out of a collaboration between the Charles Center, the Office of Career Development and Professional Engagement and College of Arts & Sciences faculty and made possible with a generous $150,000 grant from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and the Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership.

"Funding was essential to bring this project to fruition," said Elizabeth Harbron, director of the Charles Center and co-leader of this project. "Thanks to the grant, this class was free for students and provided a stipend to faculty. We are incredibly grateful that SCHEV supported this program and helped make it all happen."

The course joins a host of other initiatives aimed at advancing the Careers pillar of W&M's strategic plan, Vision 2026. This pillar sets a university-wide focus on enhancing career outcomes for students and has already yielded measurable gains.

The Princeton Review has consistently ranked William & Mary as a top 10 public school for internships for the last several years. The university currently sits as the number six best public university in this category, per their 2025 rankings.

Capitalizing on applied learning

Harbron and her colleagues landed on the one-credit, asynchronous format to seamlessly integrate the course with students' and professors' schedules.

"The purpose was to create a class that wasn't cumbersome for students, but rather bolstered the success of their summer experiences," said Harbron. "To that end, we kept the content streamlined and focused on stimulating students' thinking, helping them reflect, spark new insights and connect the dots between their applied learning experiences, what they're studying at William & Mary and their future plans."

Modules included short videos and readings, helping students evaluate their career competencies, personal values, workplace preferences and more. Mentorship meetings with professors took this a step further, providing space for guided reflection and dynamic conversation.

"Getting faculty involved was a big goal of this program," said Philip D. Heavilin II, director of internships and applied learning in the Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement. "Many faculty are already acting as mentors in more informal ways, but the grant allowed us to center those relationships and stimulate conversation focused on career readiness and preparation."

In a post-course survey, students praised the faculty mentorship as one of their favorite aspects of the program.

Reenie Tian '26, a biology major who spent her summer in a Virginia Commonwealth University laboratory researching opioids, appreciated having a W&M faculty mentor who was from the government department, outside of her area of study.

"My career goal is to become a professor," she said. "Speaking with someone who's in that role, but who took a different path than the one I'm taking, helped me broaden my perspective and think big picture."

Faculty also shared their enthusiasm for the course, many saying it gave them a fresh perspective on the importance of having formal channels and conversations for career readiness.

"I was delighted to take part in this experience," said Tuska Benes, chair of W&M's history department. "It gave me a better sense of how these applied learning opportunities influence students' career pathways. I'm certainly inspired to emphasize career preparedness more in my classes."

Having faculty incorporate these principles in their classrooms, labs and one-on-one meetings with students is key to making the university's strategic plan around careers a grassroots initiative, said Harbron.

One added benefit of the class was recordkeeping. Since it was a credit-bearing course, students received an official record of their summer experience on their transcripts, which also helps William & Mary track participation in applied learning initiatives.

Applied learning for all

Harbron hopes the university can continue offering coursework like the one-credit class and is proud that applied learning is taking center stage in the university's proposed Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP).

A QEP is a five-year plan focused on student learning and/or success. William & Mary must have a QEP in place to keep its accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

"My career center colleagues and I are pleased that our QEP proposal was selected as W&M's QEP topic," said Harbron. "The success of the one-credit course gives us confidence that curricula designed around career preparedness can inform students' future paths."

The initiative, straightforwardly called Applied Learning for All, promotes undergraduate applied learning experiences like internships, research, study abroad, and civic and community engagement.

The QEP will be reviewed by the President's Office this fall before going to William & Mary's Board of Visitors and then to SACSCOC for final approval.

"We know that applied learning is the bridge to intentional career readiness that prepares students for lives of meaning and distinction," said Kathleen Powell, William & Mary's chief career officer and associate vice president for advancement. "The QEP will strengthen William & Mary's standing as a national leader in applied learning, while amplifying the talent, resources and impact that define our distinctive liberal arts model."

Catherine Tyson

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