EXCEL program sparks transformative learning

Fort Lewis College students are earning higher grades, persisting toward graduation, and finding new career purpose—thanks to EXCEL’s community-connected learning approach, which reached over 2,000 students in just one year. 

Whether planting legacy trees, practicing self-defense with an Indigenous MMA fighter, or exploring sacred climbing routes with care, students discover that learning at FLC extends far beyond the classroom through the Experiential and Community-Engaged Learning (EXCEL) program. 

Launched in 2023 with funding from the Provost’s Office and an unrestricted gift to the FLC Foundation, EXCEL gives faculty support to design immersive, real-world learning tied to course outcomes. Professors Deb Powers and Rebecca Clausen built the program around one of FLC’s core strengths: education rooted in place, purpose, and community. 

“We knew our students needed more than lectures—they needed to see theory in action,” Powers said. 

EXCEL is remarkably efficient. Modest grants, typically between $200 and $1,000, fund field trips, materials, guest speakers, and collaborative workshops. In its first year alone, EXCEL supported 84 courses across 24 departments, showing how targeted investments can drive campus-wide transformation. 

In Native American & Indigenous Studies, instructor Deanne Grant partnered with Diné MMA fighter Nicco Montaño for a self-defense workshop tied to her course on Indigenous women and gender-based violence. “Bringing that kind of embodied, empowering learning into the classroom changes everything,” Grant said. 

In Adventure Education, students planted gardens with Riverview Elementary and legacy trees on campus—projects that linked academic learning with lasting community impact. “These projects helped me feel like I belong here,” said student Davis Eichelberger. “EXCEL made me feel seen,” added Gail Marcum, who had considered leaving college before taking her EXCEL course.

FLC’s Institutional Research Office analyzed over 600 student reflections and confirmed that EXCEL students are more engaged, achieve higher grades, and are less likely to withdraw. For many, the experience reshaped career goals and deepened purpose. 

Thanks to an $80,000 gift from philanthropist Marcey Olajos and ongoing campus support, EXCEL is expanding with an emphasis on environmental leadership. To meet the growing demand for funds, leaders are working to secure long-term funding to sustain this nationally watched model. 

“EXCEL is central to how we want to educate,” Clausen said. “And it’s changing lives, one experience at a time.”