We’re a team of friends and educators from a wide array of backgrounds and institutions who’ve come together to create Experience Lab. We’re on a mission to establish experience as a more credible and celebrated part of higher education and society as a whole. We’re focused on supporting bright students of all backgrounds during their most pivotal moments.

A shared Passion for Education

The Team

Matt Meltzer
Co-Director
Victor Saad
Co-Director
Aaron Wilson-Ahlstrom
Curriculum Director
Tyler Fowler
Digital Marketing & Storytelling Program Lead
Brian Bar
Business Development Program Lead
Allen Wolff
Recruitment Manager
Faith Anderson
Digital Marketing Instructor
Hayley Darden
Digital Marketing Instructor
Aana Leech
Digital Marketing Instructor
Bill Fetter
Marketing Operations
Megan Bartelt
Field Experiences & Industry Partners
Phoebe Sajor
Content Producer
About Us

We Believe

We started Experience Lab to solve a problem we saw with the higher education — students need access to launch their careers through experience.

We hold the following core beliefs:

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Experience is for everyone
This type of learning is not limited to certain ages, socioeconomic classes, or seasons of time. Experience is for anyone, anywhere. It is the great leveler of society, excluding no one and understood by everyone.

Experience is transformative
One of the most powerful ways to learn is by doing – by placing ourselves in the situations and with the people who are aiming to solve real world challenges.

Experience should be purposeful and intentional
Learning through experience is not accidental, it should be purposeful and intentional, in order to be more productive and meaningful.

Experience necessitates risk
Many of life’s transformative lessons come from being in a new situation – where you don’t know the right answer or there isn’t a right answer. Those are the places where you’ve taken a leap over the unknown and are aiming for a better place. You have to have faith in yourself and the things that moved you to take that leap.

Experience requires reflection
We don’t only learn by doing. Reflection is the fruit of action – it’s what we take away after planting that nourishes us and those around us. Our ability to examine where we’ve been shapes our ability to see where we might go.

Experience enables storytelling
Our actions set the stage for the compelling stories we share with friends, family, peers, and heroes. Those stories define our future relationships, careers, and perspectives on the world and ourselves. If we take the time to craft and tell them well, they lead to our very best places.

Experience is better together
Community multiplies the lessons we learn. With every new set of eyes, our experiences become exponentially more meaningful, both personally and to those around us. These are a few things that have been guiding us at Experience Lab, but if you want to geek out about both the history and future of experience and learning, check out this summary from Deloitte, this article from Harvard Business Review, or John Dewey’s classic text on Experience and Education.

Underlying it All

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

At Experience Lab, we are committed to including voices of all backgrounds with regards to gender, race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and sexual orientation. We believe that our community is strongest when all voices are represented. We do not tolerate discrimination or microagressions of any kind. We ensure that our learning and sharing spaces are safe and welcoming at all times. Read our full policy here

Weekly Updates

Experience Lab Blog

Every week we share vital information with our cohorts to help them along their way, with insights into industry best-practices, practical job-search information, book suggestions, and motivational reads.

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Interested in learning more
about EXP.LAB?

OUR MISSION

Establish experience as a credible form of learning and equip students with the tools to transform our world with an inventive spirit.