Gone (Back) To Texas: A Model For Alumni-led Experiential Learning

As the campus community enters a new post-pandemic era, it is clear that one of the most urgent needs following 2+ years of remote and hybrid learning is to create poignant, relevant contexts for pursuing immersive experiential learning. As universities reckon with the challenge of continuing to evolve their value propositions to meet student demand for more industry-relevant experiences, there is an opportunity to innovate how we design and deliver unique pedagogical experiences that connect more deeply with their educational and professional journey. This course aims to build off of existing precedent for innovative cross-departmental industry partnerships – specifically, the NikeU program previously housed in TXA and developed under the leadership of Sara Stewart Stevens. In that course, which I either collaborated on or co-led for multiple semesters, the faculty and Nike executives would work together to co-develop and co-deliver a semester-long experience that leveraged the power and resources of the brand to connect a small group of students with a dynamic project- and team-based curricular experience.