For most students, life on a college campus is a solitary  experience. You do your work--you get your grade. For teachers this is also true. The vast majority of teachers work in isolation. As a result, not only are the disciplines siloed on a college campus, so too are teachers and students. 

The Student Initiative Center (SIC) at Chabot College was created as a remedy for this problem. The SIC is a unique space, built upon a unique vision. (In fact, in their research, the founders of the SIC could find no other examples like it in the California Community College system.) 

The Student Initiative Center :

• Assists students working on group projects

• Supports clubs, programs, and classes to create initiatives that improve campus and community

• Provides professional development to teachers looking to incorporate Action Learning and other modalities into their teaching

• Curates  and hosts events

• Promotes collaboration among campus groups, community-based organizations, and citizens

The Student Initiative Center offers several lessons for TEA and the faculty we work with. The first lesson is that in this “All Hands on Deck” moment in planetary history, it simply is not sufficient for teachers and students to toil alone in a classroom tucked away on campus somewhere. The SIC is designed to promote collaboration, visibility, and success. 

And the SIC has, in its own right, been wildly successful.  Therein lies the 2nd lesson of the SIC: faculty and students are hungry to come together, to get involved, to answer the question, “What Can I DO?”