From the Dean: Focus On High-Impact Experiences

Capstone projects. Entrepreneurship clinics. Study abroad trips. International case competitions. Look around Poole College, and you’ll see high-impact experiences everywhere you turn. After all, we are the university of Think and Do. And I truly believe no one at NC State does high-impact experiences quite like we do.

These experiences help to prepare our graduates to take on roles as problem-solvers and innovators.

High-impact experiences, also referred to as high-impact practices, allow our students to bridge the gap between theory and practice by applying theoretical concepts to real-world scenarios in a team environment. These experiences help to prepare our graduates to take on roles as problem-solvers and innovators. They also help our graduates develop their leadership, collaboration and communication skills. Study abroad programs and international case competitions enhance our students’ global outlook and ability to compete in an increasingly interconnected global business world. 

You will hear a lot more about high-impact experiences in the coming weeks and months. In fact, NC State selected high-impact experiences to be the focus of the university’s five-year quality enhancement plan as part of its SACSCOC accreditation. 

I believe that high-impact experiences are an essential component of developing leaders who are prepared — and inspired — to make the world a better place to live and work.

Here within Poole College, expanding high-impact experiences for all our students is a key focus area within our Strategic Framework. I believe that high-impact experiences are an essential component of developing leaders who are prepared — and inspired — to make the world a better place to live and work. And I am not the only one.

The Kreisler family’s desire to see more Poole College students participate in high-impact experiences led them to help us fund a new position within the college: a director of high-impact experiences. We were fortunate to offer that position to Tyler Wiersma, who joined the college in October. You can read more about the Kriesler family here and Tyler’s plans for high-impact experiences at Poole College here. 

It may sound ambitious, but I want every student who calls Poole College home to participate in at least one high-impact experience before graduation.

It may sound ambitious, but I want every student who calls Poole College home to participate in at least one high-impact experience before graduation. We want our students to graduate with a diploma — and a resume that provides evidence of achievement — and high-impact experiences are tremendous resume-builders that will enhance our graduates’ employability and long-term impact. We will do whatever it takes to ensure our graduates can make an immediate and long-term impact on their communities, workplaces and organizations because of the knowledge, skills and experiences they honed right here at Poole. 

Always looking forward,
Frank Buckless
Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. Dean