Mahdavi’s push for bolstering interdisciplinary connections comes from the growing number of employers whose ideal candidates have experiential learning or internships on their resumes.

“Right now, our students who are double- and triple-majoring don’t have time to do that internship because they’re having to do all these workarounds to study what they want to study and prepare themselves to be … future proof,” she said. “We want to open up pathways so that people can have these different kinds of experiences and also have more time.”

Many of those who were in the University Center theater expressed their support for the creation of a STEM-specific college, which they felt could serve as a point of focus for the university and could inspire growth — both academically and financially.