The Student as Builder: Learning, Working, and Creating at the Same Time

Against a backdrop of rising college costs and increasingly blurred lines between learning and work, today’s students are navigating education in fundamentally different ways. And they’re not just students. They are creators, entrepreneurs and opportunity-seekers—weaving together coursework, jobs, internships and side hustles as they support themselves and build momentum toward their futures.

Yet higher education and the labor market have been slower to adapt. Too often, work and learning are treated as separate tracks rather than interconnected parts of a single journey. What does it mean to integrate work into learning in ways that are not only accessible, but high-quality and truly complementary to students’ education?

This session explores how learning and work intersect from the perspectives of students, education leaders, and workforce practitioners. Drawing on the lived experience of a working student alongside insights from leaders shaping education-to-career pathways, the conversation will examine how learners balance competing demands, what distinguishes meaningful, high-quality work experiences from transactional ones, and where existing models fall short—especially as AI and technological change reshape skills, careers, and pathways. This conversation will explore how institutions and employers can design experiences that recognize students not just as learners, but as active builders of skills, networks, and opportunity—while they are still in school.