Whitman makes a difference, says Princeton Review

With more than 70 percent of students involved in community service each year, Whitties make a difference. And The Princeton Review noticed, rating Whitman College 18th on its list of top 25 “Impact Schools” for 2017.

Ranking criteria stemmed from student appraisals and surveys about outreach opportunities, student government, sustainability efforts, and campus engagement, along with PayScale.com’s percentage of alumni reporting having “high job meaning.”

One example of student-led community programs at Whitman is Whitman Teaches the Movement, in which students hold discussions in local public schools about race and inequality. A partnership involving Whitman, Walla Walla Public Schools and the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance project, Whitman Teaches the Movement began in 2011 and reaches first through 12th graders. Topics have ranged from lunch counter sit-ins to women's rights to agricultural workers' strikes. 

Community Service Coordinator Abby Juhasz says, “All of this service is done because students view themselves as global citizens who have a desire to engage in their community, tackle difficult social justice issues and meet unmet needs in the community.”

Whitman often makes the cut from The Princeton Review: ninth in Their Students Love These Colleges, 11th in Best Classroom Experience and 12th Best Quality of Life, among other categories.

Click here for more Whitman rankings.