The EMS Academy for Global Experience (EMSAGE) is the signature undergraduate program of Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS). Launched in 2009, EMSAGE recognizes students who pursue significant achievements beyond their degree requirements across three areas: scholarship, experiential learning and global literacy, and service. Students who complete nine such accomplishments while maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA, and who write a reflective essay on their journey, earn the distinction of EMSAGE Laureate.

Since 2019, EMSAGE has grown into a tiered community of Protégés, Practitioners, and Laureates that emphasizes co-curricular planning, peer mentoring, and reflection. First-year EMS students are introduced to EMSAGE through a required seminar course, then progress through the program at their own pace, with Laureates mentoring Practitioners and Practitioners mentoring Protégés. Along the way, students build five engagement competencies — professional development, multicultural awareness, civic responsibility, systems thinking, and ethical reasoning — developing a stronger sense of identity, agency, purpose, and belonging within a supportive, non-competitive community.

Looking ahead, EMSAGE’s monthly community meetings will incorporate LearningWell focus areas — agency, identity, purpose, civic engagement, and financial wellbeing — developed in partnership with Penn State’s career services, financial literacy, and wellness offices. A new mixed-methods assessment framework, including reflective essay analysis, focus groups, alumni interviews, and post-graduation surveys aligned with the Gallup-Purdue “Big Six” experiences, will help guide the program’s growth and its potential as a model for similar initiatives across Penn State’s other colleges and campuses.