A key component of the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition is that people learn by doing.
A quote commonly attributed to St. Francis of Assisi is “Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.” The obvious lesson is that one truly understands Christian values by putting them into practice.
This pragmatic philosophy of learning has been embraced by spiritual and cultural icons throughout time, from Confucius and Benjamin Franklin (variations of “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” attributed to each) to John Dewey (“Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn.”).
In many ways throughout the curriculum, Neumann University embodies this culture of learning. The most recent addition to this hands-on approach is the forensics lab on the first floor of the Rocco Abessinio Building, the result of a yearlong collaboration with the Delaware County District Attorney’s office and the Aston Police Department.
Funded by a federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area grant of $258,000, the lab gives law enforcement throughout the county the tools to investigate crimes quickly – by analyzing seized digital devices, examining video surveillance recordings at crime scenes, and monitoring live video cameras during real-time crime.
The forensics lab also provides valuable internship opportunities for students who major in cybersecurity.
“The student intern experience is great for resumes,” says Detective Joe Walsh, an active member of the Aston Police Department and director of the lab. “They’re working on real cases.”
Cutting-edge technology in the new facility includes a $15,000 Sumuri computer that is custom-made for forensics; a Faraday box to isolate and preserve seized cell phones and laptops; license plate reader software; and three large monitors (one measuring 65 inches) to view video feeds.
Four students interned in the forensics lab during its construction, including Robert Licciardello ’24, a senior who discovered a vehicle theft while he was reviewing a video surveillance recording during his first day in the lab.
“I saw this van drive by very slow in front of a U-Haul lot. It stopped at the corner. Then guys came walking into the lot, and I saw them steal trucks,” he explains.
Licciardello documented what he saw and alerted Walsh. Police handled the investigation from that point, identifying the van’s license plate, tracking down the suspect, and getting an arrest warrant.
“I felt like a pioneer,” says Licciardello. “I’m the first one to help solve a case at the forensics lab.”
Of course, Neumann has emphasized experiential learning long before the opening of the forensics lab on May 2. Education majors complete student-teaching placements in local school districts, business majors serve internships at corporations and organizations from New York City to Washington, D.C., and nursing students learn the ropes through a series of clinical rotations at area hospitals. An internship is now a graduation requirement across the curriculum.
“Students actually learn by doing,” says Ann Zahner, an assistant professor of nursing, who has been a faculty member at Neumann for six years. “They cannot translate what you’re explaining until they do it. In our Health Assessment course, students have classroom theory and a lab. I hear time and time again when they get into that lab and do an assessment on someone, when they practice a skill, that is when the light switch goes on.”
Zahner sees similar results in her role as chair of the Nursing Social Justice Committee, which provides volunteer community service to St. Francis Inn (serving the homeless and needy in the Kensington section of Philadelphia), City Team in Chester, Save Your Soles (diabetes care for people who don’t have access to healthcare), and Project Cure (sorting medical supplies for mission trips).
The committee also offers free health screenings for the Aston community on Election Day and organizes clothing drives throughout the year.
In addition to the opportunity to practice their chosen profession, the community service experience also results in improved social skills, Zahner says.
“Students come out of their shells, and it’s beautiful to watch that,” she explains. “They feel success knowing that they can do something, and that’s incredible to witness. It gives them confidence.”
That same success is felt by students in liberal arts and humanities courses. Jim Kain, assistant professor of English and director of the liberal arts program, notes that research is supporting project-based learning.
“It’s been on my mind since before COVID,” he says, “and then COVID intensified the need to make what I’m teaching relevant.” He admits that it’s tougher to see how this teaching approach applies to humanities, but he discovered a winning concept last year.
“Linking interest in sustainability studies and climate change to its impact has added a sense of urgency to what we teach. Education is about preparation for the future and being engaged in that preparation.”
"Education is about preparation for the future and being engaged in that preparation."
The most significant impact he saw was in the Nature Writing class he taught in the fall of 2023. He told the class that their assignments would not be for him but for the public. They would launch a website and create blogs for the site with the purpose of educating those beyond the boundaries of campus.
“Once they got engaged,” Kain recalls, “they all had a role — proofreaders, editors, designers, content creators. It was a three-hour class, and the students were already in their groups and working when I got there. They were collaborating with one another, telling me what they needed, and requesting more time. Flipping the classroom put them in a situation where they felt like what they were doing had value and a real audience.”
Erin Donovan, a senior in Kain’s class, prepared a presentation about the experience for the university’s annual LEAD Conference, which uses TED Talks as its model.
In the summary of her talk, she wrote: “Our hope with the website was to engage others in the importance of protecting the natural world and to showcase how nature gives us the opportunity to find peace, be curious, be adventurous, and be an explorer of both beauty and knowledge.”
Kain is now considering how he can apply this model to other classes.
John Dewey, the American philosopher and educator who advocated that practical problem-solving and theoretical teaching should go hand in hand, would be proud. He believed that democracy and education are two sides of the same coin. Both involve and foster selfdetermination, self-development and participating in the common good, enlightened by intelligent understanding and a scientific spirit.
Ava Irwin, a Class of 2024 sport management major, is the face of hands-on experience.
She received seven job offers before graduation and accepted a position as an account executive with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association on March 8, more than two months before commencement.
She started her career on June 3, choosing the Cavs over competitive offers from the Detroit Pistons (NBA), Sporting Kansas City (MLS), Colorado Rapids (MLS), Chicago Fire (MLS), and others.
The journey to a job in her chosen field of study, however, began years ago. Irwin has a resume filled with volunteer and internship experience.
As a sophomore, she started selling 50/50 tickets for the Philadelphia Union and later landed an internship with the Union Foundation. She then began an affiliation with the Philadelphia Flyers and moved from handling marketing giveaways to being on the game-day staff to an internship with the corporate partnerships team.
She even worked at Super Bowl LVII (2023) with Living Sports and competed in the National Collegiate Sports Sales Championship in Atlanta in February of 2024.
The learn-by-doing experiences made her resume a compelling document.