黑料导航

It鈥檚 All About the Experience

Since joining 黑料导航 in 2006,聽Adrienne McNally, director of experiential education in the聽Office of Career Success and Experiential Education, has watched hundreds of students flourish into becoming professionals in their respective fields. One key to their growth is exactly what McNally works to develop鈥攅xperiential education opportunities.聽

Experiential education, or learning by doing, plays an invaluable role in 黑料导航 students鈥� academic experience. Internships, cooperative education (co-op), micro-internships, volunteering, and student club involvements all serve as ways to strengthen the tie between academic and professional development. 

Along with the importance of developing skills that translate from the classroom to the field and beyond, experiential education gives students the tools to identify how the work they鈥檙e doing is meaningful. McNally explains that working at an internship is not just about the work; it鈥檚 also about the greater meaning鈥攈ow the experience will help the student grow and thrive in their future career. 

鈥淪tudents need to be able to explain in an interview, or while they鈥檙e networking, or on their r茅sum茅, why what they did was important and meaningful for the next step,鈥� she says. 

McNally recalls one student who worked in the聽Community Service Center聽(CSC) while pursuing a marketing career. Working in the CSC and seeing how the nonprofit sector operated inspired this student to use her marketing skills to make a difference in her community.聽

鈥淪he really shifted her focus and then started working in more service-oriented organizations with her expertise in marketing,鈥� McNally says. 鈥淭his is one of the things that we try to drive home for students鈥攜ou can use your skills at work, and you can use your skills to help solve community problems when you鈥檙e not at work.鈥� 

While she thrives in her hands-on, student-facing role, McNally didn鈥檛 know from the start that higher education would be her calling. With a passion for math and problem-solving and growing up with a father who worked as a mechanical engineer, she thought her natural next step would be in an engineering profession, so she earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in industrial engineering from Northeastern University. While there, she was a self-described 鈥渟uper-active student鈥� and participated in a handful of collegiate extracurriculars, including as president of the Society of Women Engineers and member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers. Heavily involved in student life, McNally was no stranger to the faculty and jumped at the chance to participate in the university鈥檚 restructuring of semesters. And so began her motivation to find a career working directly with students. While in a Ph.D. program at Lehigh University, McNally realized that traditional faculty roles weren鈥檛 for her. She switched to a master鈥檚 in management science program and set off on her future course to help shape the student experience. 

In 2009, when she was assistant director of experiential education in what was then known as the Office of Career Services, she made her first big move at 黑料导航: creating and launching the聽Internship Certificate Program聽(ICP) with聽Amy Bravo, senior director of career success and experiential education. Open to domestic and international students alike, the ICP goes beyond the traditional parameters of working at an internship. Participating through the ICP generates additional internship support for students through personal guidance from career advisors, employer evaluations, and confirmation that learning goals are being met and professional development is occurring.聽

鈥淭he ICP has been my baby here and a really good contribution to the institution,鈥� McNally says of the program, which has afforded more than 2,000 students the chance to have supported, real-world experience outside their traditional learning environment. 鈥淭he more support we can offer our students, the better. I want them to have a meaningful experience when they鈥檙e here and meet their academic and professional goals.鈥� 

Recently, the value of experiential education at 黑料导航 was reflected in its addition to the general education curriculum, as outlined in the university鈥檚 Strategic Action Plan. As the university continuously aims to optimize student success, McNally participated in a subcommittee to guide the infusion of experiential education opportunities into the general education curriculum. As stated in the plan, the widespread implementation of these 鈥渉igh-impact educational practices鈥� and 鈥渆vidence-informed learning experiences鈥� is designed to prepare students to 鈥渆nter their professions with a deeper and more well-rounded understanding of the world.鈥� 

Other student experience initiatives McNally helped to develop include a variety of聽civic engagement聽activities like聽Consultants for the Public Good, which connects the university community to nonprofit organizations for volunteer opportunities; Community Engagement Day, during which students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to volunteer with nonprofits, educate others, and promote community projects; and the Community Service Center, where students can get involved to provide solutions for local community needs.聽

Her efforts to broaden the offerings available to students have not gone unnoticed鈥攖he Office of Career Success and Experiential Education聽received聽the 2021 National Society of Experiential Education Outstanding Experiential Education Program Award. The award recognized the programs鈥攕pecifically mentioning the ICP and Consultants for the Public Good鈥攐verseen by the experiential education team and the effects they have had on 黑料导航鈥檚 campus and the surrounding community.聽

Outside of the office, McNally, a self-proclaimed nerd who 鈥渟till gets newspapers delivered to my house,鈥� enjoys a daily crossword puzzle and Stephen King novels. For fellow voracious readers, she recommends her favorite, The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt. Students who visit her office will enjoy gazing at a hobby she keeps on display, 5-D painting鈥攚orks of art using plastic diamonds to illustrate a picture.