Hobart and William Smith Colleges

An Introduction to experiential learning

Engage in a themed experience with a small group of your peers during your first days on the HWS campus. Led by a faculty or staff guide and supported by student mentors, you'll dive into a topic of interest, collaborating with your Spark! group, getting to know the campus and greater Finger Lakes region and making connections to future academic and co-curricular paths. Your Spark! experience will culminate in a presentation, display, performance or other opportunity to share what you've learned during your first days at HWS. 

As part of new student Orientation, all incoming first-year students are required to participate in a Spark! project. Transfer students have the option to participate in a Spark! project, but it is not required.

check out first-year students participating in spark! projects on campus and around the finger lakes in this flyoverfriday. 

 

2026 Spark! Projects

Ready, Set, Rescue!
Joshua Bishop, Director of Community Values and Conflict Resolution

This unique opportunity allows students interested in the medical and helping professions gain valuable skills and relationships that will assist them throughout their time at HWS and beyond! The Spark! will allow students to complete certifications in CPR, Stop the Bleed, and Narcan training while building relationships with local EMS, Fire, and Rescue personnel from around the greater Geneva area.

Fish On! 
ben ristow, Associate professor of writing and rhetoric 

In this Spark! program, you will join other like-minded first year students who spin and/or fly-fish or would like to learn. You will have the opportunity to learn about the regional fisheries as well as world-class trout, bass, and salmon fishing in Central New York.

Toy Theatre Puppet Production
LEAH SHAFER, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MEDIA AND SOCIETY

In this SPARK!, students will utilize recyclable materials to create short Toy Theatre puppet shows. Toy Theatre is a historical form of puppetry in which puppets and sets are flat, miniature, and made of paper. Toy Theatre works employ collage & DIY aesthetics to tell their stories. Students will learn the history of Toy Theatre, build a stage, design & build puppets, and write, perform and film their own puppet show by the end of the SPARK!

Discover Rochester: The Imaging Capital of the World 
Jiangtao Harry Gu, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MEDIA AND SOCIETY

Rochester, New York, is a global center for imaging science and technology. Known as the "Imaging Capital of the World," the city is home to companies such as Kodak, Xerox, and Bausch + Lomb. As these industries declined by the end of the 20th century, the city reinvented itself as a hub for photonics--a technology that manipulates light particles for a wide range of applications such as communication, computing, and medicine.

This SPARK! introduces students to Rochester, through the lens of imaging, exploring how optical and imaging technologies give the city its unique character. Students will visit museums and tour city districts to understand the rise, decline, and revival of Rochester's imaging industries, while learning how to create online exhibits for storytelling. 

Golf Course Architecture in the Finger Lakes
Chip Capraro, Professor Emeritus

You'll get off campus right away to explore some architecturally significant golf course designs here in the Finger Lakes, by Donald Ross and Robert Trent Jones. While appreciating their beauty and splendor, you’ll engage in some key conceptual questions: What were the basic design features and fundamental principles of classically designed golf courses, including their magnificent club houses? What was the GOLFING EXPERIENCE their designers were trying to create? How is designing a golf course like solving a puzzle? You’ll wrap up your Spark! experience playing some mini-golf and then working in small groups designing golf holes here on campus to create our own HWS Links golf course!

Fun with Integrated Circuit and Robotics
HANQING HU, INSTRUCTOR OF MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

In cooperation with the HWS Robotic Club, this Spark! project offers you the opportunity for hands-on experience with coding robotics. For two days we will build circuit-controlled smart LED displays and/or small robotic rover that can run around in a classroom. We will learn the basics of circuit design and C++ coding with Arduino integrated circuit.

Animating Life at HWS
Iskandar Zulkarnain, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MEDIA AND SOCIETY 

This SPARK! project is for those who love or grew up with animation. We will watch a curated list of animations from various countries and have a discussion about what make them unique in term of their medium and message. We will then collaboratively make a short animation as our final activity.

Finding Your FIT!
Deven Siesel, Assistant Director of Recreation, Intramurals and Fitness & Garrett Beckwith

Finding Your FIT will bring first-year students together around movement and the need for human connection to discover the power of community and exercise. Students will introduced to the campus recreation center and other parts of campus, participating in a variety of sports and events, get to meet and do mini workouts with our group fitness instructors and more! We are all about movement so come prepared for lots of activities!

HWS Forever: Behind the Scenes of How HWS Thrives
Lindsey Dixon, Associate Director of Annual Giving & Dulcie Meyer, Executive Director of Annual and Athletic Giving

HWS Forever: Behind the Scenes of How HWS Thrives is a two-day SPARK! experience centered on one immersive, team-based project: understanding real needs at HWS and designing meaningful, mission-driven ways to support them.

From the start, students are invited to see themselves as more than just students—they are joining a community that spans alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and the Geneva community. Through institutional transparency, storytelling, and hands-on collaboration, participants learn how HWS initiatives are supported and why philanthropy plays a critical role in sustaining opportunities.

Students work in teams to partner with a real HWS initiative, meet with campus stakeholders to understand needs, and design a thoughtful fundraising and engagement strategy. Rather than focusing on solicitation, the project emphasizes listening, values, creativity, and shared responsibility—reinforcing the idea that HWS Forever begins on day one.

Tri the Finger Lakes: Exploring the Finger Lakes as an Outdoor Playground
Peter Budmen, Director of Student Success and Retention & Kristin Cole-Kurz, Director of Engagement, Alumni and Alumnae Relations 

Tri the Finger Lakes is an immersive, adventure-based SPARK! session designed to introduce first-year students to the natural beauty of the Finger Lakes region through activities inspired by triathlons. Participants will engage in running, swimming, kayaking, cycling, and team relay activities, fostering interpersonal relationships, team building, and a strong sense of belonging within the HWS and Geneva communities.

Let’s Play! Building Community Through Theatre
H. May, PROFESSOR OF THEATRE

We will play with a variety of performance techniques to get to know each other while embodying personal stories. Through this process we will uncover shared experiences and build community across difference. We will laugh, dream, engage in embodied play, and embrace the joy (and terror) of being comfortably uncomfortable together along the way. At the end of our project we will perform dramatized stories we create and engage an audience in theatricalizing components of their own lives together. This workshop requires no previous theatre experience. All you need is to be curious and willing to immerse yourself in embodied creative activity and to be vulnerable with and supportive of your collaborators. This is a disability-friendly space grounded in queer, antiracist, feminist practices. All exercises will be modified to fit the people in the room together.

Hot Tamales
Shanelle France, Director of Intercultural Programs and Initiatives & May Farnsworth, PROFESSOR OF SPANISH, LATIN AMERICAN, AND BILINGUAL STUDIES

Hot Tamales takes students on a tour of the Finger Lakes sourcing ingredients for making tamales.  Students will visit community gardens, meet with a local Master Gardener, small business owners, cooks, and community advocates.  The first day will focus on sourcing local, sustainable ingredients and learning from community members who are involved in LatinX advocacy.  The second day will be a tamalada where we assemble authentic and delicious tamales at a local Community Test Kitchen.

Leadership, Culture & Community: HWS Athletics
Liz Dennison, ASSOCIATE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR AND SENIOR WOMAN ADMINISTRATOR & Brittany Krivicich, Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Performance

You will discuss important topics around history, culture, academic/athletic balance, and self-leadership, all in an effort to weave an understanding of the Hobart and William Smith athletics into the your careers at HWS. You will explore the idea of followership as a form of leadership, and the transition from a senior leader in high school to a first-year team member and student in college. This Spark! will position you with a toolbox for success and immediate connections amongst the teams, the HWS community at large, alumni/ae connections, and Hobart and William Smith Athletics. This Spark! is limited to fist-year, fall sport student-athletes only and may include summer reading.

Play to Connect
Sarah Gobe, INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGIST

Building a community starts with having fun together. This session centers on connectivity and creativity, grounded in the belief that “play” is essential for developing trust, empathy, openness, resilience, and a sense of belonging. Participants will engage in a diverse mix of interactive experiences, ranging from logic puzzles and physical challenges to video and board games. Designed to enhance critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork while celebrating HWS community and culture.

Activities may include a miniature field day on the quad, board games, breakout rooms, and other playful challenges. The program also features an excursion to the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester to explore the evolution of gaming culture, discover different forms of play, and engage with interactive exhibits.

This is an inclusive, low-stakes space to make friends, recharge, and find your place at HWS.

All Means All: A Look at Disability and Inclusion in Our Finger Lakes Community
Mary Kelly, Associate Professor of Educational Studies

Meet students from Best Buddies club and the Arc Ontario College Experience Program at HWS and learn about local social-enterprise programs that employ folks with disabilities, such as the North Star Café and Bad Dog Boutique. We’ll explore inclusive recreational and arts programs (e.g., Motion Junction, Creative Expressions) and other local community-based programs that promote disability access and inclusivity.

Study Abroad in the Finger Lakes
HANNAH MATHEWS, PRE-DEPARTURE AND RE-ENTRY PROGRAMMING COORDINATOR OF THE CENTER FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION & COLLEEN KOLB, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION

Study Abroad in the Finger Lakes provides the opportunity to learn more about the area that will be your home for the next four years while simultaneously building a deeper understanding of your own identities and values. You will join in story-sharing conversations with local community members, deepen your understanding of the surrounding area with a trip to the Ithaca Farmer’s Market and a nearby New York State Park, and participate in activities to expand your intercultural competencies. Learn about using and fostering these skills both while on campus and during your future study abroad journeys with HWS.

Our Edible Landscape
TBD

This project is an exploration of the campus and surrounding area where we will learn about sustainable gardening/farming as well as the many edible plants that we walk by each day. The project will include developing some foraging skills as well as creating some delicious by-products from our foraging.

Engage and Elevate at HWS
Julia Walsh Postler, Associate Director of the Salisbury Center for Career, Professional, and Experiential Education

This SPARK is for first year students who are interested in Community and Engagement and Service Kerning at HWS and in the FLX Area. Students will learn more about how choosing and taking part in service learning can elevate your future career and professional experiences. Students will take part in a community service learning project with a local nonprofit.

Wild & Well: Curious by Nature
Hannah Smith Williams, Director of Community Values and Wellness Programs

This SPARK! project brings first-year students outdoors for two days of exploration, connection, and discovery. From the lakefront and nearby trails to favorite local spots, participants will spend time getting to know both the place and themselves, building basic naturalist skills, mindful practices, and opportunities for reflection. Along the way, students will be introduced to campus wellness initiatives and community partners, helping them navigate essential resources while discovering local gems that make HWS and the Finger Lakes unique.  Designed to be welcoming and low-pressure, this experience builds belonging and supports students feeling empowered, connected, and curious: with plenty of sweet treats and mindful moments along the way.  

Moving Forward by Looking Back: Harnessing the Power of Reflection as You Navigate Your Path
Isabelle Strong, Associate Director of the Salisbury Center for Career, Professional, and Experiential Education

This Spark! Program will help students learn and implement research-based reflection strategies they can use throughout their HWS journey and beyond. Students will discover the process of reflective journaling and conversation and how to implement it in their lives to grow, feel empowered, and express themselves. The group will act as a safe community for students to think analytically about themselves and their experiences while considering the broad scope of ideas and experiences that lay ahead. We hope that this program will “spark” in students a life-long practice of reflective thinking for wellness, self-discovery, and personal development.

Pride in the Finger Lakes
Becca Morris, Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students

A unique opportunity to engage new HWS students with the Geneva, Finger Lakes, and Rochester community through walking tours exploring the history of the local LGBTQ movement. With a sense of place and pride about the place that our cities occupy in the fight for civil rights & human dignity throughout our nation’s history. Just as our region is celebrated for the instrumental role that it has played in the abolitionist and women’s rights movements, so should it be recognized for its contributions to LGBTQ equality.