“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail

At Naropa, we see mindfulness and looking inward as intimately tied to a life of service and contributing to the social and ecological good. Naropa’s contemplative approach to academic service learning empowers students to draw inspiration from their own and others’ personal challenges and triumphs, to build connection to communities, and to gain the confidence and focus needed to discover their path and set forth.

Through this dynamic process, students learn that we are interdependent with all others and come to feel aware of, and connected to, the joys and sufferings of the whole Earth community. Students begin to recognize that true transformation can never be only personal. It naturally and inherently involves an authentic relationship with oneself, others, the human and non-human community, and the planet.

Through service learning, internships, volunteer placements, and independent and collaborative research projects, students apply the insights cultivated in the classroom to real-world challenges.

A Naropa student experiences diverse opportunities for community engagement inside and outside the classroom. Graduate students pursue professional training as artists, chaplains, educators, environmental leaders, counselors, scholars, and writers. Undergraduate students prepare for professional employment in a myriad of fields. At both the undergraduate and graduate levels, students learn to attend to and care for the inner dimensions of experience thus developing knowledge, skills, and artistry that support social and ecological justice. In the context of a community, students learn to meet the world as it is and change it for the better.

Visit our alumni profile page to see some of the many ways our graduates are contributing.