Office of Community-Engaged Learning & Vassar Education Collaboration

Experience Beyond the Classroom

Vassar’s Office of Community-Engaged Learning (OCEL) and the Vassar Education Collaboration (VEC) bridge the gap between academics and the greater Poughkeepsie area. These programs offer students a chance to step out of the classroom and participate in hands-on projects with local nonprofits, governmental organizations, and schools, encouraging them to explore the local community and giving them real-world experience to add to their resumes. Community-engaged learning is a critical funding priority for the Fearlessly Consequential campaign. With your support, Vassar can ensure that these dynamic and meaningful programs can be sustained, grow, and flourish for current students and future generations.

A person with long blond hair wearing a blue top stands talking at a podium.

“By developing and centering partnerships, OCEL provides students and faculty with the opportunity to learn alongside community partner organizations and make real-world connections to enhance the academic experience. OCEL connects students’ and faculty members’ passions around social justice issues, academic issues, teaching goals, and research inquiries to community-identified projects through a variety of programming.”

—Elizabeth Cannon, Director of OCEL

Office of Community-Engaged Learning (OCEL)

OCEL develops and builds upon relationships with Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, and the greater Hudson Valley community and governmental organizations. By connecting students and faculty with community partners, students can become active change-makers in the locality they’re learning in. OCEL consists of six unique programs:

Community-Engaged Curriculum

Initially funded by the Mellon Foundation’s Community-Engaged Intensives in the Humanities (CEIH) Grant, the Community-Engaged Curriculum supports faculty in the development of courses or intensives that fit their areas of teaching, create high-impact experiential learning, and address specific community needs and opportunities.

“I learned about some aspects of dementia in my neuroscience classes, but I wanted to do more hands-on interaction and connect the dots between my classes. [Working with Evergreen Minds] was incredibly powerful and empowering. I learned about teamwork, listening, empathy, and the power of engaging with folks often forgotten, things I wouldn’t have been able to experience in a traditional lab setting. OCEL truly changed what I want to do later in life, and I am eternally grateful for this experience.”

—Sasha Zweig ʼ25, student in a CEIH-funded course

Community Fellows

Now in its 26th year, the Community Fellows summer program partners with nonprofits and government agencies to allow students to explore the world of social justice. Students work full time with their respective organizations, offering support to programs such as DAY ONE Early Learning, The Art Effect, and Prisoner Brain Trust.

Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) #290

CEL #290 is a year-round course where students team up with a faculty sponsor to reflect on the connection between their academics and their work with a local community organization, and participate in critical reflection workshops.

Civic Engagement

Civic Engagement, otherwise known as Vassar Votes, is a nonpartisan commitment to empowering students to take part in the democratic process. The Vassar Votes team helps by getting students registered to vote, requesting absentee ballots, voting in any local, primary, state, or national elections, and learning more about the candidates, their roles, and the local political landscape.

Community-Based Research

Community-Based Research gives faculty the support they need to work with a community program to co-create research questions. Everyone works as an equal partner thinking critically about how they can address core social issues and promote change.

Community Service Work-Study

A federal program administered by OCEL, Community Service Work-Study gives students an allowance toward their financial aid award in exchange for their work with a local nonprofit organization. Students commit to the organization they work with for the entire academic year, attend biweekly workshops with the OCEL staff, and work five to eight hours a week with their community partner.

“I chose to do Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) because I knew I wanted to do more work with the local community but had no idea how to get involved. It was through OCEL’s presentation that I learned I could combine all the things I was passionate about in my CEL. While liberal arts education has been good for studying theory, CEL has helped me apply it in real life. As a political science major, I can see how the politics I am studying impact the communities I’m working in.”

—Nicole Ezell ʼ25

Vassar Education Collaboration (VEC)

Thanks to its partnership with local districts, students in the Vassar Education Collaboration volunteer with students in early childhood, middle, and high schools as tutors and mentors. VEC consists of three programs:

Vassar After School Team (VAST)

What began as an afterschool tutoring program, VAST has turned into a true mentoring program where local students explore passion projects, meet with friends, and expand their vision of the community. For three days a week during the academic school year, Vassar students provide one-on-one support to middle school students while also participating in group activities.

“(VAST) wants to follow what the kids want while also meeting them where they need the most help. My student never had homework, and she was coming to VAST for good food and community. We all try to step up to meet that need. VAST is more than just a homework-help program. It’s also a program that tries to work with the kids to meet their needs in whatever way we can. I think the kids give us [mentors] a lot. It has inspired me to do more work in the community, to try and get to the root of some other problems facing Poughkeepsie.”

—Jake Lefort ʼ27, VAST mentor

Vassar English Language Learners Outreach Program (VELLOP)

Working with an assigned classroom, VELLOP mentors assist local students who are learning to speak English and have helped to break down language barriers between school staff and the students. Student volunteers can go into their classrooms up to four times a week.

Throughout their time in the City of Poughkeepsie District’s Early Learning Center and high school, Vassar students tutor children, focusing on improving literacy while emphasizing the importance of bilingualism.

John Bradley, a person with short gray hair wearing a blue sweater, smiling.

“Many of the VEC student mentors/volunteers pursue careers in education but even those who go in a different direction come away from the experience changed by the knowledge of the challenges faced by some school children in the US.”

—John Bradley, Executive Director of VEC

Exploring College

Starting in the summer, the Exploring College program invites local high schoolers to experience a two-week in-person introduction to college-level academic materials, including classes and team-building exercises, resources on Vassar’s campus, and learning more about the college application process. During the academic year, Exploring College mentors will meet three times a week with their students using workshops, activities, and trips to help guide them as they prepare for their college journeys.

“We provide them with a third place, beyond school or home, where they can get some snacks, hang out, and work on things that interest them. We offer them an opportunity to learn about the resources they have available if they want them. Most importantly, we offer a listening ear.”

—Devaansh Singh ʼ27, Exploring College mentor

Thank you for your interest in supporting the Office of Community-Engaged Learning (OCEL) and Vassar Education Collaboration (VEC). OCEL and VEC are critical to the student experience at Vassar. With these programs, the College can continue to meaningfully and purposefully engage with the surrounding community while encouraging students to go to the source and get real-world experience outside of the classroom.