Turn your education into action and make a real impact.

VOICES courses provide opportunities for you to apply what you are learning to real-world issues in the local community. Our courses embed these activities as part of the required curriculum and regular course load.

For example, instead of writing an essay, you could be creating a public service announcement (PSA) or writing a letter to the editor of a local newspaper. In some courses, you could be collaborating directly with a community partner, essentially gaining an internship-like experience during class time. 

VOICES courses help you build important skills like teamwork, communication, and critical thinking while giving you a chance to make a real difference. You’ll meet new people, gain hands-on experience, build your resume, and maybe even discover new interests or career ideas along the way. Plus, your learning will be helping others, not just earning you a grade!

Community

Make a Real-World Impact

Helping

Get Hands-On Experience

tools

Build Communication, Collaboration & Criticial Thinking Skills

Heart

Personal Growth

“I wasn't expecting to do something like this, especially since it was my first ever college English class. I found it was a really amazing opportunity and refreshing. Instead of doing just essays, actually, we’re using what we're learning about writing and putting it into real life, doing something good with it.”

GiselleDe Jesus


“I was really excited because I want to be a teacher, so when I heard that the project was to create a children's book, I was like, oh my, I have to do this. It will be so incredible for me to be able to apply what I have learned.”

TaraFox

“I learned through hands-on field experience at the Audubon Center how crucial and vital every part of the city’s remnant wildlands is to the animals and plants that depend on them to survive and thrive, and that experience continues to propel me down a path where I can continue to contribute to this work in a meaningful way.” 

— JENNIFER Wang 

"This project taught me valuable information that I didn't know I needed. It was challenging yet kept me very entertained and I had so much fun working with my peers!"

AlyssaMunakash

How Can You Participate?

Check out our list of past community-engaged courses below. We recommend reaching out to these faculty members to see if they’ll be offering any community-engaged courses again in the future! 

Interested in a specific course but don’t see it listed? Let us know!

Past Courses

Subject Course Number Course Name Professor Professor Email
Agricultural Plant Science AGPS 006 Environmental Horticulture Joan Stevens jstevens1@pasadena.edu
Agricultural Plant Science AGPS 012 Plant Materials and Usage I Joan Stevens jstevens1@pasadena.edu
Biology BIOL 002 Animal Biology Valerie Foster vsfoster@pasadena.edu
Biology BIOL 010B The Diversity of Life on Earth: Structure, Function and Ecology Russ DiFiori redifiori@pasadena.edu
Biology BIOL 010B The Diversity of Life on Earth: Structure, Function and Ecology Jessica Blickley jblickley@pasadena.edu
Biology BIOL 014 Field Biology Jessica Blickley jblickley@pasadena.edu
Biology BIOL 016 Marine Biology Kelley Voss kstrohmvoss@pasadena.edu
Cinema CINE 007B Contemporary Film History Jack Constant jconstant@pasadena.edu
College COLL 001 First Year Seminar Francesca Chaboya fchaboya@pasadena.edu
English ENGL 001A Reading and Composition Ekaterini Kottaras ebkottaras@pasadena.edu
English ENGL 001A Reading and Composition Emily Fernandez efernandez13@pasadena.edu
English ENGL 001B Reading and Composition Ekaterini Kottaras ebkottaras@pasadena.edu
English ENGL 001B Reading and Composition Emily Fernandez efernandez13@pasadena.edu
English ENGL 059 Children’s Literature Ekaterini Kottaras ebkottaras@pasadena.edu
English ENGL 085 Chicano and Mexican American Literature (Cross-listed: ETH 085) Silvia Toscano sttoscano@pasadena.edu
Environmental Studies ENVS 001 Introduction to Environmental Science Alexandra Garcia agarcia32@pasadena.edu
Environmental Studies ENVS 001 Introduction to Environmental Science Suzanne Iwanicki siwanicki@pasadena.edu
Environmental Studies ENVS 003 Chemistry and the Environment Jillian Blatti jblatti@pasadena.edu
Environmental Studies ENVS 010 Environmental Horticulture Joan Stevens jstevens1@pasadena.edu
Environmental Studies ENVS 012 Plant Materials and Usage I Joan Stevens jstevens1@pasadena.edu
ESL Noncredit ESLN 1125
 U.S. Cultural Traditions and Social Change Carolyn Corrie
Denzil Barnett		 cjcorrie@pasadena.edu 
dobarnett@pasadena.edu 
Ethnic Studies ETH 081 Mexican American History (Cross-listed: HIST 081) Francesca Chaboya fchaboya@pasadena.edu
Ethnic Studies ETH 081 Chicano and Mexican American Literature (Cross-listed: ENGL 085) Silvia Toscano sttoscano@pasadena.edu
Geography GEOG 001 Physical Geography Rhea Presiado rspresiado@pasadena.edu
Geography GEOG 011 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems Brennan Wallace bwallace1@pasadena.edu
History HIST 081 Mexican American History (Cross-listed: ETH 081) Francesca Chaboya fchaboya@pasadena.edu
Humanities HUM 004 Humanities through the Arts Meredith Goldsmith mgoldsmith1@pasadena.edu
Physiology PYSO 001 Human Physiology Richard Lie rlie@pasadena.edu
Psychology PSYC 005 Research Methods in Psychology Shayda Jalali sjalali@pasadena.edu
Psychology PSYC 021 Developmental Psychology: The Child Bakhtawar Bhadha brbhadha@pasadena.edu
Sociology SOC 001 Introduction to Sociology Ariana Flores aflores283@pasadena.edu
Statistics STAT 018 Statistics for Behavioral and Social Sciences Patrick Rock prock@pasadena.edu
“Every day is another chance to practice living out the values that matter most to us, to be our best selves, to be the legacy we want to leave.”

- Mia Mingus