Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/415428
One hundred years ago, a school was founded to prepare individuals for professions. As it celebrates its centennial anniversary, Johnson & Wales University remains committed to the pioneering notion that experience and engagement combined with intellectual exploration are the keys to student success — in life and career. It seems appropriate, in this cen- tennial year, to remember that Johnson & Wales University has been serious about engaging stu- dents in an experiential learning environment for a very long time. The premise, according to Marie Bernardo-Sousa, LP.D., senior vice president of administration, "is to provide students with a supportive environment while at JWU to help them achieve their goals and also build a network that will aid them in achieving success both person- ally and professionally." From the start, engagement involved understanding students' career aspirations and tailoring an individual curricular roadmap to help them reach their goals. In the 1920s, that might have meant private tutoring for a known job at the Providence Telephone Company. Today, the spectrum is broader, providing opportunities for students to study abroad, work an internship, lead a club or start a business, with a goal of "giving students the breadth and depth of experience that will serve them in their chosen professions and in their lives," says Bernardo-Sousa, who has been a leading voice at JWU on the issue of engagement. In its 2017: The Centennial Plan stra- tegic initiative, the university has identified student engagement as one of four pillars that will solidify JWU's status as an innovative lead- er whose education is recognized as an effective 21st-century model of higher education. Drawing on its unique history, the university is continuing its pioneering ways in providing students with new and enhanced learning opportunities and experiences. The following pages contain five stories of students and the student engagement opportunities that are preparing them for profession- al success and lifelong personal and intellectual growth. Pathways to Success