Laszlo Folks

Laszlo is one of the Experiential Learning Specialists at UC San Diego, responsible for spreading awareness of and managing the Co-Curricular Record (CCR), in addition to supporting the UC Washington (UCDC) program and wider experiential learning initiatives of UCSD.

Learning experiences that take place beyond a classroom environment have been the through line of his career in education. Before coming to the Teaching and Learning Commons, he previously served as the University of South Carolina’s first Experiential Learning Coordinator. There he helped build their co-curricular record program, expanded beyond the class room learning opportunities across each of the school’s 12 colleges, and served as department lead for the university’s strategic service-learning plan. He also taught high school students for eight years through the community-focused and project-based learning environment at High Tech High Chula Vista. His sophomore students partnered with local non-profits, companies and government officials to improve the visibility and experience of underserved communities around the South Bay. They also presented their project findings to hundreds of local, state and international leaders at the South County Economic Development Council each year. One of the programs he’s proudest to have been a part of is HTHCV’s Outdoor Leadership Program (OLT), which provided student’s with opportunities to lead multi-day backpacking trips through some of the Southwest’s greatest state and national parks. Allowing students to thrive in the outdoors who might not otherwise feel successful in a classroom setting was just one more reason to pursue experiential learning as a transformative and necessary practice in education.  He is thrilled to be back at UC San Diego where he started his undergraduate journey years ago.