Greenville University’s Hands-On Approach Shapes Tomorrow’s Creators

Published: February 12, 2026

Author: Liz Dowell

When Sienna Alvarez ’27 walked into the Contemporary Music Center (CMC) in Nashville, Tennessee, this fall, she wasn’t entering a lecture hall; she was stepping into a working studio. The hum of amplifiers replaced the shuffle of notebooks. Song lyrics scrawled on napkins became the curriculum.

“It’s a semester-long program, kind of like studying abroad,” Alvarez explained. “Everything we do here is hands-on. We’re not just writing papers. We’re putting our hands to work and repeating it until we get it right.”

A performing arts major at Greenville University, Alvarez is one of a growing number of students participating in the University's evolving model of experiential learning. Education is designed not only to inform minds but to transform them through practice, mentorship, and a sense of calling.

Experience as the Classroom

GU’s learning philosophy has long centered on the idea that transformation happens when faith and vocation meet in action. That belief is now taking shape in new academic frameworks, such as Experience First and the Experience Institute, which connect students directly to real-world settings. From laboratories and boardrooms to recording studios and mission fields.

GU’s new educational journey is expanding the University’s areas of engagement, education, and ways to apply them to real life. The goal is to move students from theory to practice by learning through doing, reflecting, and doing again.

Programs like CMC illustrate this in action. Students there compose and perform original songs weekly, collaborate across disciplines, and learn to navigate the professional demands of the music industry.

“We even learn a completely different kind of music theory,” Alvarez said, referring to the Tennessee numbering system used by Nashville’s studio musicians. “It helps you play almost any song by ear. Everything here is practical. It’s how the industry really works.”

From the Stage to the Soul

Alvarez credits GU for preparing her to thrive in such an environment.

“As a performing arts student, I already had to memorize songs, build stage presence, and perform live,” she said. “That gave me confidence coming here. GU taught me to tell a story through my body and voice; CMC is teaching me how to live that story out loud.”

Classes like Adulting 101 at CMC pair artistry with life skills. From financial literacy to conflict resolution. Students live together in fully furnished apartments, share meals, and participate in worship and creative community.

“The fellowship is my favorite part,” Alvarez said. “We’re from all over the country, but it feels like a second home. Every day, we see how God is in the details. Whether we’re writing a song or just learning to be patient.”

Faith at Work

For Alvarez, creativity and faith intertwine seamlessly. When a songwriting prompt left her blank one week, she prayed for guidance.

“God told me to look at the painting we were given (the one called The Gleaners) and write about confidence and hard work,” she said. “So I wrote a song called The Gleaning. It reminded me that God shows up when you invite Him into the process.”

That integration of spiritual and professional growth lies at the heart of Greenville University’s educational model. Whether through CMC in Nashville, through learning to serve in the Dominican Republic, or the University’s expanding network of Experience Institutes, students are discovering that calling is something practiced as much as it is discerned.

A Future Shaped by Experience

As Alvarez looks ahead to returning to Greenville’s campus, she carries with her the lessons of applied learning. Lessons that reach beyond her major.

“Come with an open mind and open hands,” she said. “What you know now isn’t always what you’ll need later. You’ll learn so much more by doing.”

Through programs like CMC, Greenville University continues to build on its mission to equip students for lives of character and service and prepare them to meet the world not only with knowledge, but with experience.