The College of Arts and Sciences’ Seattle Experience 2025 took 12 outstanding students on an immersive journey through Seattle to explore a central question: What does it mean to thrive? This year’s cohort examined thriving across personal, professional, and civic dimensions while engaging with organizations building resilience in the face of profound social and ecological challenges.
Thriving Communities in Action
Pike Place Market: A Model of Collective Thriving
Students gained unique insights from Nick Setten of the Market Foundation, exploring how one of the nation’s first preservation districts balances historic conservation with essential social services. The Market embodies thriving through its holistic approach: maintaining historic buildings while supporting a medical clinic, senior center, low-income housing, food bank, and daycare center. Meeting Rachel Ligtenberg, the new PDA Director, students witnessed how intentional leadership fosters community resilience.
City Hall: Civic Leadership for Thriving Cities
At Seattle City Hall, students engaged with leaders crafting policies for urban thriving:
- Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, the youngest in Seattle’s history, inspired students to envision themselves in transformative leadership roles
- Deputy Mayor Jessyn Farrell shared work advancing sustainability initiatives
- Chief Maryman from the Gender-Based Violence Division (King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office)demonstrated how safety underpins community wellbeing
Turn 10 Studios: Professional Thriving Through Innovation
At Microsoft’s Turn 10 Studios, students discovered how their CAS skills translate to diverse professional environments. From game design to corporate roles in HR, law, and psychology, students explored pathways to professional fulfillment. Data Analytics student Sarah Orozco’s engagement with the game designers highlighted how academic preparation meets real-world innovation.
Wing Luke Museum: Cultural Preservation and Transformation
A tour of the historic INS facility revealed how communities transform challenges into opportunities. Once an immigration processing center and jail (1939-2003), the building now thrives as a vibrant art center—a powerful metaphor for resilience and renewal.
Building Capacity for Thriving
The Seattle Experience continues to bridge academic learning with real-world applications, empowering students to consider how their chosen fields contribute to thriving individuals, organizations, and communities. Through engagement with employers, NGOs, and civic leaders, students explored how access to shelter, food security, healthcare, transportation, and balanced living creates the foundation for collective flourishing.
Be sure to check back in the fall for Seattle Experience 2026 – History students welcome!