New Experiential Education Guarantee ensures every student has a professional experience that gives them a leg up in a competitive job market.

Audrey Sears '26 admits she didn't know much about Armenia when Professor Anna Ohanyan told her about a potential internship there with the CivilNet News agency.

Sears jumped on the opportunity and found herself working for both the agency and the American University of Armenia the summer before her junior year.

"We've built a strong network of international research-based internship providers in Armenia over the years," says Ohanyan, a professor in Stonehill's Department of Political Science and International Relations. "It offers students a unique opportunity to broaden their perspectives, while professors can deepen classroom learning by demonstrating the real-world applications of social science theories."

It's one of many opportunities that exemplify Stonehill's commitment to combining curriculum taught in the classroom and engagement with the world beyond.

Now the college is introducing a program that ensures all students benefit from that formula. Through the Experiential Education Guarantee (EEG), every student completes at least one high-impact, real-world learning experience before graduation.



A path for every journey

For Sears, every experience she had in Armenia -- reporting, developing a podcast and managing social media -- led to another. She later completed two additional experiential learning opportunities: an internship with Massachusetts House of Representatives candidate Joshua Tarsky and a Stonehill Undergraduate Research Experience project examining gender disinformation in the Middle East. "The majority of my 'Stonehill experience' has actually taken place outside Stonehill," reflects Sears.

That, says Christina Burney, executive director of experiential education, is the point.

"Historically, we've always encouraged students to look beyond our campus for opportunities, and nearly 90 percent of our students were already engaging in experiential education in some form," she says. "But by creating a formal program, we can better track outcomes, offer more intentional guidance and help students get even greater value from experience."

The types of experiences that fulfill the guarantee are as diverse as the student interests that drive them. The EEG encompasses a growing list of 17 approved programs, from internships, faculty-mentored research and study abroad to on-campus leadership roles and service initiatives.

"We've designed the EEG to be flexible," says Burney. "Whether your passion is social justice, global issues, research or professional development, there's something here for you."



Where experience and intention intersect

Each program includes clear learning goals, hands-on engagement and an intentional connection to the college's mission. That ensures students aren't simply busy but growing in ways that align with their academic, professional and personal development.

Students are encouraged to set goals and reflect throughout the experience, and then they articulate the transferable skills they've gained, something Burney says is critical to long-term impact.

"Reflection helps students connect the dots between what they did and what they learned," she explains. "That makes it easier to talk about in job or graduate school interviews while also deepening their self-awareness."

Burney emphasizes that the EEG is about enrichment -- and employability. "Today's employers and graduate programs want to know what you've done beyond the classroom," she says. "They want to see initiative and collaboration. The EEG helps students develop those competencies in a supported way."

Sears clearly sees the commitment and the value. "Every opportunity I've had -- from Armenia to campaign communications to the digital innovation lab -- stemmed from relationships I built and experiences I said yes to," she says. "Without Stonehill's emphasis on experiential learning, my education would have looked completely different."