Experiences

Experiences: Exploring Nursing LC Visits UNMC
Experiences

As a member of a Learning Community, you will be invited to participate in exclusive events and activities only available to LC students. These experiences provide you with opportunities to explore possible majors and career paths, make connections with faculty and staff in your academic interest area, and get to know other first-year LC students. Participation in these outside-of-class events is always voluntary, but we're confident you'll find many memorable, can't-miss experiences!

Each Learning Community will host individual events for its members. Examples of possible experiences include behind-the-scenes tours of relevant businesses or organizations, dinners with faculty or alumni, meetings with visiting scholars or presentations by on-campus speakers, academic success workshops, and hands-on activities that are both social and educational. In addition, all Learning Community students will be invited to participate in other program-wide experiences, such as the Welcome Event, Trivia Night, and the Participation Race.

Exploring Business Opportunities in Omaha

Business Leaders Visit Omaha
Business students visit the Buildertrend company in Omaha

The Business Leaders Learning Communitiy experienced a few of the local business in Omaha. Students visited Verizon Media, a digital Marketing company, and Buildertrend, a Construction Project Management Software company.

At each site, students toured the businesses, heard from current employees about their job roles and professional experiences, and learned about future internship and career opportunities. Through these experiential learning opportunities, students gained a better understanding of career options available, learned what it takes to position themselves to be qualified applicants, and developed a visual understanding of different business environments. At the end of the day, students were able to experience some of the cultural and historic sites in the Old Market in Omaha, as well as visit the Durham Museum, which highlights the growth and development of the Omaha community.

   

Discovering Opportunities in Healthcare

Pre-Health LC students tour UNMC
Pre-health students visit University of Nebraska Medical Center

Each year, the Exploring Health and Medicine Learning Communitiy travels to Omaha, Nebraska for a behind-the-scenes tour at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), or a local hospital/clinic.

During this tour, students visit the Buffett Cancer Center (including the Oncology Unit, the Chihuly Healing Sanctuary, and the Crystalography lab) and participate in hands-on medical education activities including virtual reality training and simulations. Sessions about how to prepare for and become a healthcare professional and meeting with a panel of current UNMC students gives LC students valuable insight into what it takes to enter the healthcare field. 

Behind the Bench

Pre-Law LC Visits Nebraska State Supreme Court
Pre-Law LC Visits Nebraska State Supreme Court

The Pre-Law Opportunities: Preparing for your J.D. and Beyond Learning Community toured the Nebraska State Supreme Court with their faculty sponsor, Tracy Warren, Assistant Dean of Admissions at UNL’s College of Law.

During a private Q&A with Chief Justice Michael Heavican, the students learned about the role the state’s highest court plays in the judiciary system, what it takes to become a state Supreme Court judge, and what they should expect, should they ever appear before the court as a lawyer. They even got to enjoy the view customarily reserved for the Justices, sitting behind the bench!

CSI: Roadkill Edition

Biological Sciences LC Practices Dissection Skills
Biological Sciences LC Practices Dissection Skills

Many students interested in the life sciences have to wait years before gaining practical experience. However, the Biological Sciences: Research on the Cutting Edge Learning Community offers students a unique, hands-on experience with dissection.

The Biological Sciences LC students participate in an exclusive seminar taught by faculty sponsor Dr. Gwen Bachman, Associate Professor in the School of Biological Sciences. Throughout the semester, students read and discuss cases from the book "The Deadly Dinner Party," using science to solve medical mysteries. The semester culminates with “Roadkill CSI,” an activity in which the students dissect roadkill collected by Dr. Bachman to practice life sciences skills and attempt to identify other biological conditions the animals may have had.

Discovering Cather's Historic Red Cloud

Responsible Design LC Service Trip to Red Cloud, NE
Responsible Design LC Service Trip to Red Cloud, NE

The Responsible Design: Architecture, Interior Design, and Landscape Architecture Learning Community participated in a service learning trip to Red Cloud, Nebraska. The trip was led by the group’s prior faculty sponsor, Dr. Kim Wilson, professor and Director of the Landscape Architecture Program at UNL.

Red Cloud was home to Nebraska author Willa Cather, and students were immersed in her history during their stay there - including spending the night in Cather's former home. In Red Cloud, they enjoyed a sunset “picnic on the prairie,” a bonfire with locals, and a Willa Cather-themed scavenger hunt. The next day, students took an architectural tour of Red Cloud, which included the largest round barn in the United States, an historic opera house, and other buildings, in order to experience the place that was so integral to Cather's writing. Later, the students volunteered by doing painting and restoration work on one of Red Cloud's historic homes.