Issues to Impact (i2i) Communities

Discover what matters to you and how you can make a difference with your skills and talents

The Issues to Impact (i2i) Communities bring together first-year students who care about the same issues and want to create meaningful change while building life-long community and skills along the way. Through mentoring, field experiences, guest speakers, and a community of peers, you'll explore real-world challenges and discover how your unique interests, skills, and talents can help you make an impact at DU and beyond.

Interested in participating? Fill out an interest form below:

Interest Form

Program Overview

Community

You'll join a group of peers guided by a dedicated mentor team.
Flexible Schedule

Take a 2-credit course in Winter and another in Spring Quarter developed just for your i2i Community. Extracurricular activities happen outside normally scheduled class periods to allow flexible scheduling. From dinners with community leaders to field trips and more, activities are designed to fit into your schedule.
Earn Credits While Exploring

Apply course credits to Minors, such as the Community Engagement for the Public Good Minor, or Common Curriculum electives. Students can also earn a micro-credential, specifically the DU Purpose Driven microcredential.
Take Action
Make a plan to take action on the issues you care about during your time at DU and beyond! Some students go on to do:
- Research
- Internships

Choose an issue, join a community

Each of the i2i Communities below are open to all first-year students, no matter your major!

Mental Health Promotion

Explore the challenges and opportunities shaping mental health and well-being today.

Sustainability and Eco-Wellness

Discover how environmental sustainability and personal well-being are connected.

Community and Public Health

Learn how communities, organizations, and individuals work together to improve health outcomes.

What to Expect Quarter by Quarter

Winter Quarter

What’s your Why: Explore your interests from different perspectives and uncover the issues that inspire your academic and career passions. Through guided reflections, guest talks, and experiential activities, you’ll discover what matters most to you and what drives you to take action. By the end of the quarter, you will answer the question: What matters so much to me that I’m inspired to take action?
This sprint serves as the first course in DU’s What’s Your Why i2i sequence.
Spring Quarter

Here’s Your How: In this course, you’ll move from identifying your passions to exploring concrete ways to take action. Through experiential learning opportunities, guest talks, and guided reflection, you’ll create an Action Plan that connects your interests with academic and professional goals.
As the second course in DU’s What’s Your Why i2i sequence, this sprint helps you translate inspiration into impact.

three guys with DU attire posing for the camera in nature

Eligibility & Requirements

All first-year students are invited to apply! In fall of your first year, you'll fill out a brief interest form. An invitation to register for your preferred cohort, based on your interest form, will be sent by the end of the Fall Quarter.

Interested in participating? Fill out an interest form below:

Interest Form

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do I have to be in a certain major to join?

Not at all! We welcome students from any major, minor, or even if you’re undeclared — your interest is what counts.
Can I participate in this community if I am in other cohort programs or groups?

Yes. There are no restrictions to participating.
Is there a course to register for?

Yes. Students will register for a 1-credit course in Winter and 1-credit course in Spring. These courses are limited to students in the cohort. When you join the cohort, you will receive registration information.
How much freedom do students have to design their own experiences in the cohort?

Lots! The cohort is designed to help each student identify their unique path, informed by their interests, skills, and talents.
Are there opportunities to connect with community organizations?

Yes. You'll start meeting community leaders and learn about local organizations as well as explore different ways to get involved in Denver.
How do mentors in the program help students translate their cohort experiences into future directions - such as research, internships, or graduate opportunities?

Your mentors will support you to develop an action plan that is unique to your interests, skills, and talents. With guidance from your mentors, you'll build a detailed plan for how to translate your interests into action.
When does the class meet?

The class is a "sprint" structure, which means that it doesn't follow the usual weekly schedule. To earn the 1 credit, you should plan on about 10 hours of scheduled time with your peers and mentors for the quarter. In the first half of the quarter, you will meet with your peers and mentors once for about 4 hours of instruction time. Over the rest of the quarter, you will fulfill the remaining 6 hours through student programming.
What would participating look like?

You'll take two 1-credit classes with a group of peers. Connected to that class, you'll participate in about 10 hours of activities over the quarter. Activities will include a mix of time with your mentors, community speakers, and field trips, for instance. You'll be invited to other co-curricular events that are encouraged but optional, such as dinners and activities.

Winter & Spring Course Sequence

Winter Quarter

What’s Your Why: Understanding the Change You Want to Make in the World (CENG 1010, 2 credit)

Course Description: You will examine issues related to the public good from multiple vantage points. As you explore your broad interests, you will begin to identify the specific issues (or problems) that spark your academic interests, career aspirations, and passions.

By the end of the quarter, you will answer the question: What matters so much to me that I’m inspired to take action? The first course in a sequence taken by students participating in DU’s What’s Your Why Learning Cohorts, this course involves experiential activities, such as guest speakers and field trips.

Course objectives include:

Compare and contrast different academic approaches to public good problem solving.
Compare and contrast different career pathways.
Describe your academic and career interests in terms of public good impact.
Begin to develop an action plan to pursue signature work (such as internships) connected to your unique interests.

Spring Quarter

Here’s Your How: Public Good Impact (CENG 1011, 2 credit)

Course Description: In the first course in this sequence, you identified an issue that inspires you to take action. Now, you will explore different types of action. Students can take many pathways to action, each of which involves a different combination of knowledge, dreams, skills, and talents. For example, DU students can do direct service, policy work, advocacy, innovation, research and more as signature work. By the end of the course, you will map your issue and interests onto an Action Plan. The Action Plan will help you strategically select and connect your academic experiences, build intellectual community, grow mentoring relationships, acquire foundational academic skills, and develop core professional skills on the path to signature work at DU. The second course in a sequence taken by students participating in DU’s What’s Your Why Learning Cohorts, this course involves experiential activities, such as guest speakers and field trips. Prerequisite: Instructor Approval

Course objectives include:

Describe multiple pathways to taking action for public good impact.
Compare and contrast the skills, talents, and abilities needed for different pathways to taking action for public good impact.
Develop an action plan to pursue signature work (such as internships) that aligns with interests.