For over a decade, the Engaged Learning Celebration has highlighted student success within community engagement, married with academic achievement.  On April 29, 2026, almost 100 people gathered in the Oak room at the Redwood Campus to hear from community-engaged learning (CEL) student awardees, civically engaged scholars (CES), and other SLCC institutional leaders. The celebration marks over 25 years of successful community-engaged learning (i.e., service-learning) at the college. The ELC is now offered under the umbrella of the end of semester, Undergraduate Projects, Performances, Presentations, and Research Celebration (UP3RC).  

Participants enjoyed a tasty brunch while chatting with friends, colleagues, and fellow students and families. Student speakers in all of the CES program areas were highlighted. A student in the independent track, Lana, talked about the work that they did in their Sociology 1010 class with organizations like the YWCA. They talked about providing trauma informed services and the connections to this in their course content where they learned about concepts like; deviance, crime and social control, social stratification and relationships and family. Jocelyn, from the Occupational Therapy Assisting program, spoke about topics such as physical disfunction, pediatrics and geriatrics and organizations they worked with such as Ability Inclusion Services. An outstanding student from the ASL/Interpreting program, Laura discussed the philanthropic services they provided for community partners such as the Sego Lily School for the Abused Deaf. Finally, Rosa, a Dental Hygiene student, spoke about the critical clinical services they provided for the Midvale Community Building Community Clinic, an organization that serves a diverse group of un-insured and underinsured people. Each story serves as a reminder of how hands-on learning that directly connects students' coursework to community needs is a relevant and powerful way to address social issues in an academically relevant manner. After hearing from the speakers, we celebrated with all the CES students who were graduating with distinction for their excellent civic and community engagement efforts.  

To wrap up, the Provost commented on how CEL is a high-impact practice that helps support durable skills development such as critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and leadership.   

At the end of the celebration, we blasted celebration songs, popped off streamers and shouted for joy for the end of the year! Thank you to everybody who attended and to everyone who supports this important work.