Through the Haas Center for Public Service’s Cardinal Quarter program, Stanford undergraduates can now participate in funded, hands-on service-learning with Tilting Futures’ Take Action Lab Accelerator.
November 11, 2025
Tilting Futures is collaborating with the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University to make global service-learning more accessible for students. Beginning June 2026, Haas Center-supported students will have dedicated seats in Take Action Lab Accelerator: a stipended, full-time, summer-quarter experience in South Africa or Malaysia that combines community-based apprenticeships and a reflective, interdisciplinary curriculum.
The program brings together a global cohort that lives and learns together under the guidance of Tilting Futures’ learning team, cultivating self-awareness, ethical leadership, cross-cultural understanding, and the ability to translate purpose into action for the common good.
“At its core, this partnership is about creating spaces where students grow as whole people and where learning, service, and reflection come together to shape how young people see the world and their place in it,” said Erin Lewellen, CEO of Tilting Futures. “Together, Tilting Futures and Stanford are demonstrating how universities can weave experiential learning and service into the heart of higher education, equipping the next generation to lead with empathy, courage, and a global perspective – skills our world needs most right now.”
This collaboration was made possible through the vision and generosity of longtime Stanford supporter Jane McConnell (Stanford ’85), who, with her husband, has supported Cardinal Quarter Fellowships at the Haas Center for more than a decade. By funding Tilting Futures placements, McConnell is expanding opportunities for Stanford students to engage in high-impact, community-based experiential learning around the world.
“Jane’s leadership reflects the very essence of what this partnership stands for—it increases access to experiential learning opportunities, opening new pathways for students to serve, learn, and lead globally,” said Lewellen.
“At the Haas Center, we’re constantly exploring new ways to connect public service with experiential learning,” said Meghann Tovar, Program Director for Undergraduate Fellowships at the Haas Center for Public Service. “We’re excited about placing students with Tilting Futures this year, giving them the opportunity to live and learn in global contexts that challenge and inspire them to think deeply about service and global engagement.”
Together with the Haas Center and a growing coalition of higher education partners, Tilting Futures is uniting colleges and universities around a shared vision: a world where young people learn through experience, build empathy through service, and emerge as leaders ready to shape a more sustainable and connected future.
Stanford Students, explore Cardinal Quarter pathways and discover if Take Action Lab: Accelerator is the right fit for your summer.
Universities and Colleges, interested in offering your students a credit-aligned, evidence-based global service-learning track?
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About Tilting Futures
Tilting Futures is building a worldwide coalition of young people with the skills and networks to solve our most complex global challenges. For 15 years, we have been equipping emerging leaders (ages 17-22) to navigate diverse perspectives, engage in civil dialogue, and drive positive impact in their communities and careers. Our flagship program, Take Action Lab, immerses students in hands-on apprenticeships, blending real-world experience with self-discovery and global orientation.
With rising demand from students, industry leaders, and in collaboration with a growing coalition of partners — including the University of Pittsburgh, the Bonner Program, Morehouse College, the University of Oregon, Rhodes College, African Leadership University, Clinton Global Initiative University, Harvard University, and the University of California, Berkeley — we are working to integrate this powerful learning model into mainstream education, ensuring access for all. When they graduate, our students join a global alumni community 3,000+ strong, continuing to collaborate, lead, and drive impact across sectors and borders.
Learn more at https://go.tiltingfutures.org/annual-report/
Haas Center for Public Service
Since 1985, the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University has been connecting Stanford students with opportunities to serve communities locally, nationally, and around the world. It administers Cardinal Service, a university-wide effort to make service an essential feature of a Stanford education. The Haas Center connects academic study with community and public service to strengthen communities and develop effective public leaders. The Center aspires to develop aware, engaged, and thoughtful citizens who contribute to the realization of a more just and sustainable world.
Learn more at https://haas.stanford.edu or https://cardinalservice.stanford.edu.
Contacts
Aziza Musa
Chief External Affairs Officer, Tilting Futures
Meghann Tovar
Program Director, Undergraduate Fellowships, Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University
mztovar@stanford.edu
