Success story: Increasing experiential learning for all students

November 5, 2026

If you remember school as rows of desks with an instructor standing in front, consider joining students in two of NMC’s longest-running experiential learning projects this month, which showcase the college’s strategic goal to offer more classes like them.

NMC is a leader in experiential learning, which flips the traditional “learn to do” method of instruction to “doing to learn” by providing students with hands-on opportunities to solve real problems and engage in their community. That’s exactly what the 13th annual Thanks-for-Giving food drive and the 11th annual Walk for Health & Housing do.

The food drive, led by business students (pictured above), seeks to provide 215 Thanksgiving meal boxes to local families. Collection of food and financial donations is underway now, including a public Glow Skate event from 7-9 p.m. Friday at Howe Arena. Meals will be distributed Nov. 23.

The walk, set for Wednesday, Nov. 18, shows downtown Traverse City from the perspective of people experiencing homelessness and the providers who serve them. Departing from Central United Methodist Church, the 90-minute guided tour is a collaborative project involving social work, sociology and English classes held during National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week, Nov. 15–22.

Research shows students involved in experiential learning are more likely to persist through their college coursework and graduate. NMC offers a degree-accompanying endorsement that transcribes a student’s experiential learning into personal and professional skills sought by employers. Currently 105 students are enrolled, ahead of the 100-student target, which is nearly double the 2025–2026 endorsement enrollment.

Luke Klug, a 2026 graduate in construction management, earned the endorsement along with his degree. He is a project manager at Endura Performance Homes.

“The skills and the experiences that I went through through the endorsement helped build my confidence to go through the interview process,” said Klug, who moved into the role from a position as a carpenter at another company.

For his endorsement, Klug participated in a variety of activities, including studying sustainable building in Denmark. Key for him was a business class he took with Kristy McDonald, who also leads the Thanksgiving meal drive project.

“Having taken that class really helped me build those skills to have a conversation professionally,” Klug said.

McDonald, who co-directs NMC’s Experiential Learning Institute with Brandon Everest, the sociology instructor behind the walk, said they are intent on growing EL strategically, well beyond their own classes.

“As we expand experiential learning and intentionally embed a durable skills curriculum across NMC, our goal is to ensure more students have these transformative opportunities and can clearly communicate the skills they’ve gained to future employers and opportunities,” she said.