Our Ethos: Exploring Cultural Identities and Raising Global Consciousness

Merrill College–its curriculum and community–fosters respect for world cultures and for the cultural heritage of each Merrill student. The college strives to maintain consciousness of global issues and to cultivate commitment to serving others in the greater local and global village we now occupy. The atmosphere at Merrill College is friendly, focused, engaged, and accepting. The ethos of the college is knowledge of and active engagement with the larger world.

Merrill College supports a diverse range of programs fostering experiential learning. Research shows that such programs actively increase student’s academic engagement and success. These programs take education beyond the classroom, modeling active civic, academic, and creative engagement and mentoring student participants. These opportunities encourage tangible, hands-on learning meant to spark a sense of purpose, caring, and drive in students that will last well beyond college. And all provide students the chance to dig deeper into what it means to be a Merrill student on campus, in the Santa Cruz community, and in the world. Common courses are:

Leadership for Social Change: This is the first of a two-part series. Focusing on the theory and practice of leadership aimed at effecting positive change, this course provides conceptual and practical knowledge for students ready to make a difference—locally, at UCSC, and beyond. Students in the course identify individual, group, and societal values in order to understand leadership that is responsible because it is contextually appropriate. Two tracks—campus leadership and off-campus leadership—lead to different practical experience pathways. 

Classroom Connection offers 40-50 students per quarter academic credit to learn about K-12 education in California while serving as classroom aides or tutor/mentors in local and regional schools. Participating students learn about the California educational system as they become a genuinely meaningful part of younger students’ educational stories. About ¾ of the participants are placed in underserved Santa Cruz area elementary schools. Spanish-speaking participants may be placed in bilingual elementary school classrooms locally, or may choose placements in the tiny agricultural community of Pescadero, 30 miles up the coast, where they help ease the language barrier between elementary school students and teachers and serve as “transition-to-college” mentors for middle and high school students. Classroom Connection participants model what it means to be a college student and encourage younger children to imagine college as part of their future. Many return for another quarter.

Merrill’s revived Field Study program has developed into a unique and meaningful opportunity, especially for those whose own majors may not offer experiential education opportunities. Students learn principles of field study and how to take field notes while serving as participant-observers in off-campus organizations. Placements give students a sense of grounded purpose as they simultaneously pursue their more traditional studies in the classroom. Some find placements directly connected with their majors; others feed another passion. Students study the agencies while working within them, actively learning while participating in work that benefits the greater Santa Cruz community.

Students who participate in this programming have higher levels of academic determination and diverse citizenship (openness to others’ ideas and perspectives, and belief that one can make a difference in the world) compared to those who do not participate in this programming. These students also have higher GPAs if they take the class after their first year of college, report more interactions with faculty, report more multicultural competencies, and more gains in foundational college competencies (e.g., critical thinking, oral communication, research) compared to those who have not taken these classes.