When NASA astronaut and Richmond alumnus Leland Melvin, '86, made arrangements to swing by and visit a few of his former chemistry professors following his 13-day flight to the International Space Station, word spread through the department quietly but quickly.

Even at Richmond, where many projects and learning opportunities take place outside the classroom, it's not every day that students find themselves spending the night in a sleeping bag, side by side with their professor and classmates, on the floor of a museum — all in the name of research.

Senior Lindsay Petty was a fan of the Tampa Bay Rays before she started working for them. The Rays have been in existence for 11 years, and Petty has been following them for nine of those years, ever since her family moved to Florida from Connecticut.

"It's a very big deal for me to have this opportunity," says psychology major Elvira Barron of being the first in her family to attend college.

Classes like leadership and Spanish have a long-standing tradition of involving their students in community-based learning. But how do professors of biology and management tie community engagement into their classes?

After fleeing her home in Uganda and building a life in Richmond, Joanita Senoga, C'06, was faced with a choice between going back to school and supporting her family. She chose to do both.

"You never know where being a lawyer is going to take you," says animal law expert Rebecca Huss, L'92, on serving as guardian and special master to Michael Vick's dogs.

When Common Ground approached geography professor Kim Klinker to spearhead the creation of a new campus accessibility map, she called on students in "Introduction to Geographic Systems" to do the job alongside university faculty and staff.

Jessica Ruzic's summer internship brought her into the world of nonprofit leadership as she did everything from planning a gala celebrating local foods to meeting with members of the board.

As an intern in Cape Town, South Africa, Bonner Scholar Chaz Barracks, '11, worked alongside rehabilitated prisoners and South African heroes.