Experiential Learning
Transforms Lives
Study abroad and other co-curricular programs give students the opportunity to see the world…and change it.
A lot of what makes higher education at CSUDH special happens outside the traditional four walls of the classroom. Experiential and co-curricular learning are part of the strategic mission of the university—embedded deeply in the values we promote as an institution and that we seek to instill in our students.
Just in the last several months, our Toros have evaluated child development strategies in southern Italy, supported occupational therapy services in an area of central Bulgaria with few institutional resources, visited the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, and uncovered new artifacts of global significance in the jungles of eastern Mexico that fill critical gaps in our understanding of Mayan culture.
Closer to home, CSUDH students have explored the stunning natural beauty of the Sierra Nevadas in Bishop, Calif. during an annual flyfishing trip. Along the way, they’ve learned about land and water conservation, explored the history of the indigenous population of the Owens Valley region, and visited the Manzanar National Historic Site, where thousands of Japanese Americans were interned during World War II.
“The idea behind transformation education is that your student experience changes you,” says Rob Goodwin, founder of the travel company Stone & Compass. A graduate of CSUDH, Goodwin founded the company in 2011 as a full-service travel agency but also as a mechanism to give students from across the country a chance to expand their educational horizons.
Take a trip and change a life.”
He estimates that about 1,000 CSUDH students have participated in his study abroad programs in the last 13 years. “We run these programs for CSUDH at a deep discount by raising funds in other areas to offset the costs,” says Goodwin. “My professors at CSUDH believed in my potential, even though I had a pretty indifferent educational background. They helped me believe in myself, so it’s my way of giving back.”
The company operates as a fully vested nonprofit organization that also raises funding for projects that support communities in need throughout the world. “Our mission is pretty simple—take a trip and change a life.”
Goodwin says his study abroad programs have made a real impact in the lives of many students. “We gauge this by what students do when they get back home,” he says. “I’ve seen some kids change their whole career path. The programs we offer help students gain a deep awareness about the world and a stronger connection to it.”
