CATalyzing Community: Connection and Place-Making at Sixth College
Winter 2025
One of the ongoing challenges on any college campus is helping students feel truly connected to each other and to the larger community. With this course, we set out to tackle that head-on. We wanted connection to be built into the experience itself, so that students weren't only forming bonds within the classroom but also shaping a stronger sense of community beyond it.
The idea at the heart of CATalyzing Community: Connection and Place-Making at Sixth College is simple: students should play an active role in creating the college environment they're a part of. That means not just identifying problems, but actually designing solutions that make campus life more engaging, welcoming, and responsive to student needs.
Throughout the quarter, students worked in groups to research issues on campus, survey their peers, brainstorm fresh approaches, and develop practical solutions. Their work culminated in presentations at the Purr-suasion Den—our playful take on Shark Tank, named after Sixth's CAT theme. In this event, student teams pitched their ideas to a panel of university leaders.
The result? Students gained real-world skills in problem-solving, collaboration, and public speaking while actively shaping the campus and building community.
Past Highlights
