Granting Wishes

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”

 Xun Kuang, “Xunzi,” Chinese Confucian philosopher 

This phrase, often incorrectly attributed to Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, illustrates how students need hands-on experiences to grasp concepts presented in a textbook, classroom, or laboratory. Mini-grants available through California Lutheran University’s College of Arts and Sciences have empowered Cal Lutheran faculty to give students opportunities to partake in activities that augment coursework through experiential learning.

The College started offering mini-grants last fall with funding up to $500 to faculty members. Projects had to meet certain criteria whereby students would boost their knowledge, build skills, gain awareness, and clarify values involving the theory and practice of a specific course.

These grants are the brainchild of Dean Timothy Hengst, M.A. Funding for the grants in the amount of $15,000 this academic year comes from the Dean’s Office’s general discretionary fund.

“This was set up to encourage a larger conversation about the growing emphasis on experiential learning and hopefully give the faculty some small incentive to develop and support this emerging area of the student learning experience at Cal Lutheran,” said Hengst.

To date, the College has awarded 20 mini-grants across several majors: English, the performing and visual arts, biology, chemistry, languages and culture, ethnic and race studies, criminology and criminal justice, communication, history, philosophy, and psychology. Faculty who received funding used it for on and off-campus activities or workshops. 

Art of the possible 

According to the Association for Experiential Education, this method of learning by doing allows for “challenge and experience followed by reflection, leading to learning and growth.” Universities can utilize experiential learning across a variety of disciplines, ranging from education to the liberal arts and sciences to business. Professionals, such as coaches, corporate team builders, and counselors also rely on it for team building or to help a person create positive changes in behavior. 

The College has used experiential learning through internships, performing arts events, laboratory settings, and participation in conferences. Last summer, theatre arts students and alumni participated in the annual Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival when the festival celebrated its 25th anniversary. Students also had access to summer student research fellowships, where they collaborated alongside faculty, who guided them in a variety of research projects in the applied, natural, and social sciences. The students then introduced their findings at last fall’s annual student research symposium.

“Through experiential learning, students can see the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of what they discuss in the classroom,” Hengst said. “They get a better appreciation of how theory and practice relate to one other.”

In Cal Lutheran’s Theatre and Dance Department, Professor Michael J. Arndt, MFA, received $500 to support four students who took part in a regional acting contest held in Las Vegas, Nev. in mid-February.  Two of the students, Amelia “Lia” Tracy and Logan Smoot, advanced to the final round of the Irene Ryan Acting Competition of the Region VIII in the national Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF). The duo surpassed more than 250 other performers from across Southern California, Southern Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, and Guam. Tracy won the title of regional alternate for the competition, meaning if the winner could not participate, she would have vied for the national award at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. this April.

“Cal Lutheran Theatre Arts program has participated in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival since the 1980s,” said Arndt. “This is the first time in nearly 40 years of competition that a Cal Lutheran student has been among the top two actors in the region. What is more remarkable is that Lia is a first-year student, and the gentleman who won the region is a much older graduate student.”

The funding Arndt’s project received allowed the students to get a deeper understanding of their craft. They attended productions of plays from other universities, devised works, ten-minute plays, acting workshops that industry professionals led, and student design presentations.”

“I often describe the regional KCACTF as a year of theatre study condensed into one week,” Arndt said. 

Forging personal connections 

Barbara Obermeier, who chairs the Visual Arts Department and teaches graphic design and digital art, along with Jesse Groves, curator of Exhibition and Collections who teaches photography, organized a workshop in February, “Unleash Your Devotional Creativity with Resin: A ‘Cuadro’ Workshop,” with two local artists. A group of 20 students created a piece of art in any medium similar to the artists’ works featured in their exhibition recently on display at The William Rolland Gallery of Fine Art.  

“Working with the two artists from the ‘Sacred Residue’ exhibition, Brian Paumier and Vanessa Wallace-Gonzales, all of the students who participated in this workshop were able to creatively explore their personal identities and/or devotional stories and learn how to use art, found objects, pigments, and inks forever sealed in resin to create a unique and beautiful piece of art,” said Obermeier.

Another theatre arts faculty member, Andrea Heilman, EdD, MFA, took students on a journey behind-the-scenes of a regional professional performing arts center. A dozen students visited the South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, Calif., to embark on a deep dive into learning how a story informs lighting design. Students witnessed collaborative problem-solving that often occurs between a play’s director and lighting designer, seeing its application to classroom learning.

First-year theatre arts major Riley Herbert called the trip “eye-opening,” adding, “It allowed me to put what I was learning and continue to learn in the theatre department into an entirely different context.” Herbert said she appreciated director Adam Harris’ comments on the intersection of theatre, the arts, and diversity, equity, and inclusion, noting his words “spoke to me and the work I hope to do one day.”

Two of Herbert’s peers echoed her sentiments. Hailey Starr, who is also studying theatre arts, said, “I would definitely go again, and I think future classes should have the opportunity to go as well as it is beneficial.” Starr spoke with Harris, who shared his work process with the first-year student.

Sophomore film and TV major Brayden Galante discussed how the trip augmented what Heilman teaches on campus. 

“The coursework we were reviewing lined up with the event and proved to supplement the understanding of concepts presented.”

Each mini-grant has given students distinct experiences enabling them to discover new topics which personally relate to them or help them unearth their abilities. This is a win-win for the College and its faculty and students.  

“It’s crucial we provide our students with relevant experiences they can apply in the workplace,” Hengst said. “Ultimately, we want students to prosper, both personally and academically, and these mini-grants can play a small part in that process.”