They couldn’t be more different in their course of study, career trajectory, or background, but 15 sophomores, juniors, and seniors all shared one common link: the desire to spend a Career Catalyst Block at National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Following in the footsteps of the inaugural off-campus Career Catalyst Half Block at Mattel Corporation in January 2024, the focus for Block two in October 2025 was on a world-renowned nonprofit, whose CEO is former CC President Jill Tiefenthaler.

"It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since I traded in Colorado College’s black and gold for Nat Geo yellow, so welcoming a group of students and faculty to our campus felt like worlds colliding in the best possible way,” said Tiefenthaler following the experience. “What a joy it was to have CC here at our Washington, D.C. Base Camp! We know CC has many options for where to spend two immersive weeks during the Block Plan, and we’re so honored they chose to spend them with us at the National Geographic Society. I hope the students left with a deeper understanding of how we operate as a global nonprofit and how our teams are working every day to make a difference in the world.”

National Geographic has a long history of documenting discoveries, from primate research by Jane Goodall to the Mariana Trench dives of James Cameron. It’s known for its stunning photography and in-depth storytelling about the natural world and its role in funding groundbreaking exploration and conservation projects.

“This is what CC does best,” says Career Catalyst Faculty Co-Instructor Ryan Bañagale, Associate Professor of Music and Director of the Crown Center for Teaching. “Providing these immersive experiences that leverage the power of our students to help make change in the world and envision where they may find themselves after completing college.”

For Bañagale and Faculty Co-Instructor Dan Johnson, Professor of Economics and Business, the Career Catalyst Program is the culmination of many years of effort at the college, thinking about how students connect across disciplines at a moment in time.

“We're hoping that students really lean into this moment in their lives,” says Johnson. “They're in college as a vibrant part of their professional development. That's the college experience. We want them to focus on all the ways in which they could be learning. We're hoping with this Career Catalyst Block experience to give them more information with which to make those choices, so that they can be intentional, so that they can be agents of their own education.”

One student likened the experience to “professional speed dating,” where they had 48 meetings in two weeks, gaining insights from people in various roles.

“I think that one of the best things that this class teaches you is what a nonprofit is all about,” says Asa Gartrell ’26. “I think another one of its strengths is taking you into the moments that make this workplace happen. Interactions between the whole divisional board or the whole divisional lead team and seeing how they interact with one another.”

Gartrell came into the course from a science storytelling perspective as an Organismal Biology and Ecology major and Journalism minor. He says the experience opened his eyes to the possibilities.

“We've gotten such a wealth of career advice here from people who are really established in their fields and have what a lot of people might consider their dream jobs,” Gartrell added. “And I think the biggest piece of advice I've taken away is don't commit yourself to a career right off the bat. Risk taking is the only thing that's going to get you where you want to be.”

No Career Catalyst Block will be the same experience, as the opportunities develop in collaboration between the organization and the faculty instructors. What students get from it is highly individualized. They are pushed to focus and reflect on a personal narrative. And they submit a project proposal the organization can use. The students took full advantage of being in the nation’s capital, exploring the Smithsonian Institutions, meeting with lobbyists at the Legal Defense Fund and with aides for Colorado’s senators, and hearing from multiple CC alumni. Each experience contributed to the students’ final project and individual growth.

National Geographic Chief Scientist Ian Miller ’99, also a CC alum, and his team members engaged with the students throughout the program and gained a great deal—from their energy and enthusiasm to their fresh set of ideas and perspective on the world. He credits the Block Plan for making it a reality.

“The Block Plan is uniquely suited for this kind of experience where you embed at an organization and really put yourself fully into that experience. That’s when so much of our work happened,” Miller said. “I think having that kind of preparation as a student at CC some 25 years ago now just set me up for success.  And I can see it in these new students. They’re coming prepared to not only fully put themselves behind the experience but then can work very quickly. It’s also remarkable how these students got just one day to produce their final project, which is wild. And they did such a great job—it was really fun.”

The prompt for their final project was related to how National Geographic’s new Museum of Exploration, scheduled to open in 2026, will reach its many audiences.  The students came up with creative ways to bring visitors and locals to the space.

“We ultimately pitched them an idea about an integrative app for the Museum of Exploration, including interactive activities within the museum,” said Havalin Haskell ’26, an Environmental Studies major and Political Science and Journalism minor.

Haskell’s team also pitched ways to bring local D.C. residents back to the Museum after they’ve seen it once. “And so, we really honed-in on how we think from our perspective as 20-year-olds, that they can bring them back with nighttime activities by capitalizing on some more social events.”

Their presentation was well-received, which solidified what they were able to do in a professional setting and be taken seriously as contributors and future colleagues.

“I think the biggest skill that I've learned in the last two weeks is the power of networking,” added Gartrell. “It's the power of reaching out to someone. And
knowing that I matter enough, and they matter enough, that it would be mutually beneficial if we met up and got to understand each other.”

“I hope that students coming out of this course have the opportunity to see how much they have to offer the world,” said Bañagale. “I hope they realize that the opportunities are boundless, that what they've learned and what they know as liberal arts students is applicable in an unlimited number of paths and an unlimited number of directions.”

The biggest surprise for many was a special lunch visitor.

“The biggest surprise from this class was walking into a lunch with the storytelling team and Bob Ballard, who discovered the Titanic, was standing there ready to tell his stories,” Gartrell said.

“And they huddled around him for about an hour over lunch,” Miller continued. “And he just ate it up. And I saw him the next day. He was like, ‘I loved that so much! Thank you for putting me in with all those students!’ So, I thought that was a really beautiful moment. It was totally random, but it worked out really nicely as well. At National Geographic, there's just always people like that around.”

Miller says he and his colleagues at National Geographic were surprised by how much energy hosting the Career Catalyst Program gave them, that they’d like to do it again someday.

“I have to say I never thought that this would be a part of my CC experience, but I think it is the cherry on top and the biggest cherry I could have ever imagined,” said Haskell. “I've had so many phenomenal experiences on the Block plan at Colorado College that I'll be forever grateful for, but this one has really propelled me into my future more than any other one that I can think of.”