LEAP focuses on real-world learning

Audience interaction is a given at Mount Holyoke College’s LEAP Symposium, but during a presentation by Georgia Swanson ’26, interplay was somewhat sharper than usual.

“Don’t touch!” Swanson exclaimed as Michelle J. Markley, professor of geology and chair of the geology and geography department, attempted to examine the tray of fossils Swanson had brought from the College Archives.

Swanson later explained, “If she had touched the fossils, everybody was going to want to touch the fossils.”

The annual LEAP (“Learning through Application”) Symposium is Mount Holyoke’s premier showcase for students to present their summer research or internship experiences. This year, more than 230 students participated in 58 panels about their experiential learning. They joined those gathered for Family and Friends Weekend to discuss how they developed the skills to advance their careers and open more pathways for discovery and knowledge.

Panels were held during five sessions on Friday, Oct. 25, with Mount Holyoke faculty and staff serving as panel moderators. Audience members were struck by the breadth of the presentations, which ran the gamut from “Community, Memory and Identity Through Research and Advocacy” to “Natural Sciences Beyond the Lab” to “Trendsetters: STEM Data Insights and Career Paths” to “Brains, Bugs and Biological Processes” to “Education Beyond the Classroom” to “Architecture in Context.”

“I really admire the range, both in the internships and sharing the learning,” said John Sanderson, father of first-year student Flora Sanderson ’28 from Fort Collins, Colorado.

Ronnie Estelle, Sanderson’s mother, agreed. “Look at all these other skills the students are getting! Clearly, it’s broadening their horizons. Kudos to MHC for this.”

Many of the students’ summer experiences were supported by Lynk funding. Advice from student presenters for their peers about securing internships and funding was to start as early as possible.

Elizabeth Alexandra ’25, a psychology and politics double major with a Nexus in educational policies and practice, urged peers to be both mindful and planful. “Start early for your internship hunt,” Alexandra said. “Identify your goals!”

Presenters urged other students to visit the Career Development Center as well as their professors during office hours.

Presenting at LEAP is a capstone project for Mount Holyoke students, summing up their experiences, as well as the course College 211: Reflecting Back — Connecting Internship and Research to Your Liberal Arts Education.

Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Sociology and Director of Nexus Eleanor R. Townsley thinks that student presentations are as much for the audience’s benefit as for the students’.

“By the time we get students to LEAP, they are putting out their best work,” said Townsley. “I hope students feel recognized and celebrated for the work they’ve done, and I hope they see the College’s utmost respect for the work they do.”