This summer, the Gustavus Signature Experience (known as SigX) took flight. Two pilot courses put into full-throttle practice the most innovative feature of the new Gustavus liberal arts curriculum.
One Signature Experience course served a cohort of students conducting on-campus summer research. The other served students in the midst of summer internships around the state and the U.S. For both pilot curriculums, the aim is the same: Connect students’ summer experiences with their sense of purpose in their life and their future careers.
The curriculum and its faculty leads— Political Science professor Kate Knutson and Chemistry professor Amanda Nienow—helped students advance their knowledge of now toward understanding its impact on what’s next. This happens in practical ways, such as through making effective LinkedIn profiles, and conceptual ways, through students’ reflections on their personal understanding of vocation in their lives and aspirations. Through each SigX course, students attended a weekly class with a Gustavus professor and fellow students, discussed their research or internships, and explored and practiced professionalism, conflict resolution, effective communication, the concept of vocation, and articulating the connections between their summer experiences and their future careers.
“I’ve had so much fun this summer supervising a range of Gustie interns,” says professor Knutson who is leading the SigX Internship cohort. Her students include a Computer Science major interning at Bloomberg in New York City, and a Psychological Science major interning at an autism treatment center in Burnsville. “It’s been a powerful reminder of how much impact we can have by investing in the next generation of professionals.” One of Knutson’s summer students, Anelda Agyei ’27, is a Computer Science major with a Public Health minor and interning with WorldStrides, running STEM-focused summer camps for middle school students on the East Coast. Through the SigX course, “I’ve come to realize that vocation is much more than a job title or even a specific role,” she says. “It’s more about aligning my values and passions with the work I do in the world. It’s about paying attention to the things that stir something in me, the problems I can’t ignore, and the communities I feel called to serve.”
I’ve come to realize that vocation is much more than a job title or even a specific role. It’s more about aligning my values and passions with the work I do in the world. It’s about paying attention to the things that stir something in me, the problems I can’t ignore, and the communities I feel called to serve.
—Anelda Agyei ’27, Computer Science major, Public Health minor
Jonathan Ryan ’27 worked with Physics professor Darsa Donelan whose research group custom-built a telescope array to study radio waves from Jupiter and its moon Io. He rebuilt its signal calibrator and set up a remote data collection system. In the SigX research cohort, led by professor Nienow, Ryan’s been “looking more towards the future about what kind of jobs I want to have. Where do I want to work? I’m exploring hiring environments with a science perspective, and the practical reality of getting a job or working in academia.”
The real test is post-graduation, when the SigX advantage will have produced Gusties with out-of-classroom experiences that shaped who they are in life and work, and also developed their ability to talk about it with anyone.
HERE’S WHAT’S ON THE PILOTS’ TESTS
Well, not exactly. SigX isn’t that kind of class. But there are weekly discussion topics and assignments students must complete. Here’s just some of what they worked on this summer to provide dimension and perspective to their research and internships.
• Learn about and explore the concept of vocation and how it manifests in your own interests, passions, skills, and experiences.
• Learn and practice building resilience in a workplace.
• Connect your past experience to your internship or research, and your internship or research to your future.
• Build and refine your resume or curriculum vitae, your LinkedIn profile, and your digital presence.
• Learn about and practice informational interviewing.
• Create and deliver an “elevator pitch” about yourself and your aspirations. Who are you? What do you care about? Where are you headed? How will you serve?
