Good Neighbor Podcast: North Shore
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of North Shore
Good Neighbor Podcast: North Shore
EP #55 - College for Social Innovation: Eric Schwartz and Jade Kwitkiwski
Discover the transformative power of experiential learning as we welcome Eric Schwartz, co-founder and CEO of College for Social Innovation, and Jade Kwitkiwski, an inspiring alumna of the Semester in the City program, to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Eric and Jade share their journeys into the educational field, highlighting how hands-on experiences can ignite a passion for learning and create pathways for meaningful careers. Eric reveals the vision behind College for Social Innovation, emphasizing how their programs provide rigor, purpose, and invaluable mentorship. Meanwhile, Jade reflects on her life-changing internship at a non-profit journalism organization, which not only honed her skills but also provided her with a mentor who continues to guide her career.
Join us as we explore the myths and misconceptions surrounding experiential learning and how it’s often undervalued in traditional academic settings. Eric and Jade passionately advocate for a more immersive approach to education, one that prepares students for purposeful careers and builds their confidence through real-world experiences. Dive into the conversation to learn how the innovative models championed by the College for Social Innovation can shape the future of young professionals, and why Jade is now dedicated to helping other students discover these opportunities. This episode is a compelling listen for anyone interested in the evolution of education and the profound impact experiential learning can have.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Yvonne Godfrey.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Today, we have the distinct pleasure of meeting with Eric Schwartz. He is the co-founder and CEO for College for Social Innovation. Welcome to the Good Neighbor podcast. Today we have the distinct pleasure of having with us Eric Schwartz. He is the co-founder and CEO for the College for Social Innovation. We also have Jade Krakuski. She is an alumni of this program, the AmeriCorps VISTA program, and she is also with us. We're so delighted to have both of you and to learn more about College for Social Innovation. Eric Jade, how are you today?
Speaker 3:Very good. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:Thank you Wonderful, we're happy to have you. So can you tell our listeners more about the College for Social Innovation?
Speaker 3:I can start with a quick explanation. We run semester-long experiential learning programs for college students, allowing students to have an immersive, service-based semester where they get full academic credit, they have a mentor and they help change the world. It's based in Boston. Jade had a chance to participate a couple of years ago. Maybe, Jade, you can share a highlight.
Speaker 4:Sure. So I was a fellow of the Semester in the City program in fall of 2022. So I was a college student and then did this program to do an internship at the Ground Truth Project, which is a non-profit journalism organization.
Speaker 2:Wonderful, and how did you both get into the educational field?
Speaker 3:For me, it was really when I was a little younger than Jade. I had an internship that changed my life and as I look back on it, I think I learned more from that internship which was on a political campaign than I did in all my classes put together, and I realized that we need to provide a way in this country to give more young people access to great experiences and great mentors and, unfortunately, the way we've designed colleges and universities, most students don't get that. They sit in a classroom, they listen to the professor. There's some great professors talking about interesting things, but I think learning would be much deeper if a lot of the learning could come through experiences of the types that we're organizing at College for Social Innovation.
Speaker 2:Wonderful and Jade. After going through this program, you are now sharing information with others about this program, about this college. Can you share with our listeners how you got into this educational field? What triggered your desire to even be a part of this Giving Back program?
Speaker 4:Sure, well, I did the program when I was in college myself and I was a communication and journalism major. I was looking to get some hands-on experience in the field that I wanted to go into, which was how I was kind of introduced to College for Social Innovation and semester in the city. And after doing the program myself, I had a really fantastic experience. I gained a really fantastic network, a mentor that I still talk to now and just really believed in the mission of College for Social Innovation. So when I graduated from college, there was a position open on the recruitment and marketing team which aligns with my personal interests to come back through AmeriCorps for a year of service, and I really wanted to do this because I felt like the experience was really valuable for me and also just important within my own project of helping students to find this opportunity and show them that it's a good fit and could help advance them in their career and their life.
Speaker 2:Beautiful. So what are some myths or misconceptions that you've both discovered in the educational realm?
Speaker 3:I think sometimes both students and professors or leaders of colleges assume that an experiential learning that's built around an internship is somehow less rigorous. It's not real college and I would ask people to sort of take a step back and think about. The purpose of college is to light a fire and educate young people and prepare young people for careers of purpose, and I actually think our program is more rigorous and the evidence of student learning and student engagement with the world is high and students in our program are really building confidence. They're building purpose, but they're also building all the skills that I think we want young people to develop in college and as they prepare for career.
Speaker 2:Well said.
Speaker 4:And you Jade, yeah, from the student side, I think another misconception that may prevent students from wanting to try something different is that you could be missing out, whether that's just regular college life, and to that I say you're not. There'll be things that will be different, but by coming into like a completely new experience and place, you're going to be learning so much. You're going to meet so many new experience and place. You're going to be learning so much. You're going to meet so many new people and have these experiences that you wouldn't otherwise have, which I think is way more valuable sometimes for personal growth.
Speaker 2:That was well said as well, especially coming from someone who went through the program. So thank you for sharing. So, outside of work, what do you both do for fun?
Speaker 3:I'll go first, Jade.
Speaker 4:Sure, recently I have been rock climbing a lot. Actually I think the rock climbing and bouldering culture in Boston is kind of exploding, so typically when I'm not at work I am at the climbing gym with my friends Nice.
Speaker 3:I played tennis last night. When the weather's a little better, I also play pickleball. I do a lot of gardening, almost farming, but not quite farming Still gardening, I'd say but I like to get outside, really like to walk and run outside, as well as playing racket sports and growing things.
Speaker 2:OK, thank you. So let's change gears. So can you both describe one hardship or one of life's challenge that you rose above and can now say because of it, you're better and you're stronger. What comes to both of your mind?
Speaker 3:For me, probably it was my high school years which were difficult. I went to three different high schools. I actually barely graduated from high school, even though I had a lot of privileges and a lot of support. So that was a really difficult time in my life and it led to that first internship that I did after my first year of college and really led to sort of a new discovery of like purpose. And I think in some ways the challenges and the really bad feeling of a lot of those adolescent years gave me a sense of both hunger for replicating what helped me move forward and a sense of empathy for the challenges that people go through in life.
Speaker 2:Okay, jade.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think. For me, one thing that comes to mind is just in my stage of life I'm a recent graduate from college there's just lots of change for everything all the time, which can be difficult sometimes you know gaining your footing in the world and figuring out who you are. But I feel like overall, where I went to school, my home communities have been really helpful in you know supporting me and figuring out who I want to be and what I want to do in life.
Speaker 2:Thank you for sharing. So can you please tell our listeners one thing that they should remember about College for Social Innovation?
Speaker 3:I think it's a way to turbocharge your career and your plan for kind of moving from college to life. A lot of people I've got kids who are just out of college and I think for a lot of people it's a big cliff. You finish college and they're like what's next? And I think College for Social Innovation allows you to try on some opportunities and try on some careers in a very supportive environment and the results are clear from our last eight years of work that students who do our program are much more likely to get a job and build, I think, a sense of purpose as they enter their post-college years. It's also a lot of fun I think Jay talked about this earlier but sometimes people may worry that they're going to miss out on something and actually coming into Boston with a group of peers and participating in the program is a really, really fun semester as well as being really kind of good for you and a way to kind of build your future.
Speaker 2:Wonderful Jay. Do you have any input?
Speaker 4:Sure, I think in a similar vein if you are a college student looking for something new but even if you're not, if you're a gap year student or maybe you're just like looking for a break from traditional learning, doing a program like Semester in the City through the College for Social Innovation provides you with that opportunity and it might feel scary, but as someone who did it myself, I would encourage you to take the leap and do something new for yourself, because there are so many benefits to it and I promise it's going to be an amazing experience.
Speaker 2:Wonderful. Thank you for the testimony. So how can our listeners learn more about College for Social Innovation?
Speaker 3:Come to our website, wwwcollegeforsocialinnovationorg If you want to come see the program in action. We have a graduation ceremony that's open to the public on May 9th in the morning. It'll probably start at 10 in the morning, but be in touch with us through the website and we'd love to see you there. And we're continuing to innovate. One thing that we're now thinking about is developing a one or two-year college program where it'd be an alternative way to start college and not just do one semester with us, but two or three or four semesters, build a maybe associate's degree in public service and really find a way, particularly if you like experiential learning, you like real world learning, this could be a way for you to get credit, build your college career and do it in a different way that we think the country is kind of hungry for, and it's just a different way to do college.
Speaker 2:Okay, thank you for that. Thank you, jade. Eric, I really appreciate you being on the show with us today. We certainly wish both of you and College for Social Innovation all the very best moving forward, thank you.
Speaker 3:Thanks so much for having us on the show.
Speaker 4:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thanks for having me. Thank you for listening to the good neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnp north shorecom. That's gnp north shorecom, or call 857-703-9406.