<p dir="ltr">This dissertation presents a multi-method investigation of first-year engineering students’ extracurricular and co-curricular (extra-/co-curricular) participation, examining its impact on their professional development and well-being. Through three interrelated studies, this dissertation aims to broaden conceptualizations of extracurricular participation and to develop a holistic framework capturing the ways in which these activities and experiences influence students.</p><p dir="ltr">The first study analyzed survey data from 710 first-year engineering students to characterize what about participation in a given extra-/co-curricular experience is impactful to students and to identify patterns in how students choose to participate in one or more extra-/co-curricular activities. Exploratory factor analysis identified seven dimensions of participation that characterize students’ participation experiences in a given activity, spanning social and career-related aspects: career-related experiences, professional development and networking, community engagement and leadership, financial support, social integration, peer-influenced exploration, and mentorship and peer relationships. Cluster analysis identified five profiles of participation in specific extra-/co-curricular activities: social-focused, career-preparation, comprehensive, interest-driven, and paid work. Findings show that many students seek a balance of experiences, with few activities characterized solely by engineering-specific elements and many students participating in combinations of recreational and career-preparation activities.</p><p dir="ltr">The second study analyzed 860 short-text, open-ended survey responses, investigating how students perceived the benefits of extra-/co-curricular participation in relation to dimensions of wellness. This analysis identified four themes in how students perceived the benefits of their participation: fostering a sense of community and belonging, offering peer mentorship and support networks, facilitating authentic experiences and career exploration, and supporting stress management and overall well-being through interest-driven participation. These themes spanned multiple wellness dimensions, including social, emotional, occupational, and intellectual wellness, with patterns in the benefits students perceived by type of extra-/co-curricular activity.</p><p dir="ltr">The third study examined the use of natural language processing (NLP) approaches to facilitate the analysis of the short-text, open-response survey datasets. This study compared NLP-facilitated results to the manual analysis of the open-response survey data, demonstrating consistency between these approaches. Findings also demonstrate areas where integrating NLP-facilitated results with manual analysis helped improve the codebook and resulting analysis.</p><p dir="ltr">This dissertation characterizes key dimensions and perceived benefits of extra-/co-curricular participation that support students’ professional development and well-being. By investigating how first-year engineering students participate in and benefit from extra-/co-curricular activities in complement to the curriculum, this research contributes to broader efforts in engineering education to create more inclusive and engaging learning environments.</p>

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This project investigates the benefits and practicality of applying Zimmerman's (1994) dimensions of self-regulated learning to co-curricular activities so as to increase students' willingness and opportunities to communicate in English in the hallways of intensive English programs. Three of these dimensions (social environment, motivation, and physical environment) work together to create a semi-structured liaison between in and out of class communicative environments and give students an occasion, location, and motivation to speak English with one another. To evaluate the effectiveness of such activities and conceptualize a means in which to assist intensive English programs effectively incorporate co-curricular activities in their curricula, the principal researcher designed and conducted a co-curricular activity based self-regulated learning. She obtained student feedback using surveys and interviews and found that the majority of students spoke mostly English, made new friends, practiced listening and speaking skills, and enjoyed themselves at this activity. As a result of this data, the principal researcher created a booklet to assist in the planning of future co-curricular activities. While only a preliminary study, this data and resulting booklet have great potential to fill the hallways of intensive English programs with English and thus create a holistic learning environment.