The Student Experience at CCE

Community Engaged Learning (CEL) is a process that connects concepts in the classroom to service experiences in the community. The Sundborg Center for Community Engagement (CCE) works with instructors to identify community organizations where Seattle University students can be matched in either placement-based or project-based experiences.

  1. Center for Community Engagement
  2. The Student Experience at CCE

WMS High Five Event 2023

Current you, meet future you

YesFarm Seattle U Magazine June 2021

Community Engaged Learning

Community Engaged Learning connects classroom concepts to community collaborations. Center for Community Engagement facilitates partnerships that offer students placement-based or project-based experience that facilitates social change.

large group of SU students at a Day of Service in 2008

Volunteer In The Community

Find your niche in the community through a volunteer role. You can find one-time and ongoing volunteer opportunities to assist in the community, on campus or at local community organizations through our online platform, GivePulse.

Female Scholar laughing blue hijab male mentor red lanyard

Student Employment & Leadership

Earn funds to support your education while helping neighborhood youth prepare for college, career and life. Student positions are supported by experienced SU leads and staff from the Center for Community Engagement.

What Students Are Saying About CCE

Isaiah Thomas, '23

Isaiah Payne, '23

"I wouldn't be who I am today without everyone I've met ... the impact everyone has had on me is unique in every way. My experience with the CCE has been amazing."

RAMP Mentor at Washington Middle School

Reflecting on CEL Outcomes

Community Engaged Learning (CEL) is a process that connects concepts in the classroom to service experiences in the community. The Sundborg Center for Community Engagement (CCE) works with instructors to identify community organizations where Seattle University students can be matched in either placement-based or project-based experiences. Learning in the community isn’t charity, but rather an opportunity to engage in social change within the neighborhood.

Community Engaged Learning (CEL) fosters transformational experiences and deepens the impact on a student's education. Through the process of cultivating community, students can develop authentic relationships, advocate for social change and work to redistribute power. CEL asks students to go beyond direct service to examine the underlying social systems that perpetuate inequalities and explore ways to dismantle these systems.

We believe that CEL is key to engaging students and community leaders who will positively transform our university and broader communities. Critical community engagement seeks to “deconstruct systems of power so the need for service and the inequalities that create and sustain them are dismantled.” (Mitchell, 2008)

In a recent Seattle University alumni survey, 75% of students who participated in CEL programs and classes felt engaged and connected with the larger Seattle community through CCE programs, motivated by building relationships and collaborating with others to define community needs and strengths.

They felt engaged in dialogue on social justice issues. They engaged with others with compassion, creativity and care, and developed leadership skills to address challenges. More than 75% felt they could foster a constructive team environment to achieve an outcome and could valuate and implement strategies to solve a problem or address a goal.

Let CCE help you build community and your skillset during your time at Seattle University.