Discover why the Society for Experiential Education’s welcoming, inclusive atmosphere coupled with sessions packed with invaluable insights made this event an unmissable experience.
It’s a special thing when newcomers are made to feel like they’ve always belonged. Yet that was the sentiment Shane Sutherland, PebblePad’s Chief Academic Officer, and I felt after attending the 54th annual Society for Experiential Education (SEE) Conference. Three days and countless conversations later, we were fortunate to leave Niagara Falls, Ontario, with new friends, invaluable insights into experiential education, and a renewed sense of hope for the future of higher ed in North America.
And that’s thanks to the incredibly welcoming, open, and inclusive community of SEE members at the event. With around 300 attendees representing institutions—mainly from the US but with a delightful smattering from Canada—Shane and I were made to feel like we fitted right in.
More than a sponsor
We were there as a Friend Sponsor, with a table located in the foyer of the conference center’s main ballroom and with the other conference partners. We weren’t made to feel like just another vendor trying to make a sale though—but like valued partners who are just as dedicated to the mission of higher education as conference attendees (as we are!).
As PebblePad’s North America Marketing Manager, answering “what’s PebblePad?” again and again was genuinely fulfilling for me. It meant I got to share our story with people who have had such a positive impact on so many students and their success across the US and Canada. Almost everyone had never heard of PebblePad before, yet the positive reception and number of times attendees said, “that would really help our students and instructors,” only validated our partnership with SEE.
![“I got to share [PebblePad’s] story with people who have had such a positive impact on so many students and their success across the US and Canada.” • Stephanie Vivirito, North America Marketing Manager](https://pebblepad.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/SEE-2025-300x130.png)
Connections that count
It was also a delight to be at the PebblePad booth to connect with conference attendees throughout the day as they went in and out of sessions. Shane didn’t miss a single session, either! Like me, he also made many new connections and talked about PebblePad as he went to sessions, but was particularly excited about improving his knowledge of this area of US higher education.
Experiential education/experiential learning is a particular approach or set of initiatives, encompassing:
- Living learning communities
- Service learning
- Study abroad
- Undergraduate research
- Internships
Renew and reenergize
The conference’s opening plenary session, ‘SEEing, Doing, and Defining Experiential Learning: A Panel Discussion about the Value of an EL Ecosystem in Higher Education’ provided further context behind some of the main conference themes. There was an emphasis on how experiential learning is about connecting knowledge with passion. This was reflected in the welcome remarks from Edwin Blanton, SEE President and Assistant Vice Provost at The University of Texas San Antonio, who encouraged attendees to reconnect, renew, and reenergize throughout the three days.
Conference sessions offered opportunities to do just that. ‘Experiential Education for a Connected World’ was the theme of this year’s conference—especially fitting with SEE’s first-ever international location at Niagara Falls, Ontario. Highlighting the critical role of hands-on learning in an increasingly interconnected global landscape, conference sessions explored how to foster global citizenship, promote collaboration, and build more inclusive, interconnected communities.
Something for everyone
Complementing the conference themes, its breakout sessions offered something for everyone. For instance, with its focus on fostering interconnected academic communities, a team from the University of Florida presented, ‘Bridging Academia and the Real World: Implementing Experiential Education through Faculty Collaboration’. Christina Mattern, Onursal Erol, Taylor Stokes, and Gabriela Hamerlinck shared insights on their Experiential Learning Coordinator (ELC) model of faculty organization, which fosters the championing of experiential education.
Meanwhile, Bill Whitney, Assistant Vice Provost for Experiential Learning Programs at Lehigh University, presented on the University’s Impact Fellowship program. Executed through the Office of Creative Inquiry at Lehigh, the program is open to students of all disciplines. They spend two semesters working at the intersection of community engagement, experiential learning, research, and social entrepreneurship in a problem-based learning manner.
Be right back
If you didn’t make it to such a far-reaching event this time round, next year’s is in Savannah in October. We’ll be back, only this time no longer as newcomers but as huge advocates for this exceptional event; one that we can’t recommend highly enough to our community.
We hope to see you there—and be sure to expect a warm welcome if you do make the trip!
If you’d like to learn more about experiential learning, check out our deep-dive guide in PebblePad’s new Pedagogy section—click here to read now.
