Dreams of studying abroad started percolating for Melanie Menkevich during her summers at Wildwood on the Jersey Shore. As a teen, she worked on the boardwalk alongside students from around the world, making lifelong friends from Ireland, Egypt, Bulgaria and Russia.

A discussion with 2010 graduate Kylie Patterson.

While historians may look back on the 5,582 Temple undergraduate students who officially graduate this academic year as the largest class in the university's history, the Class of 2010 would rather you remember them for a different reason — and it relates to accomplishments that didn't even happen on campus. More than any other group of Temple grads before them, the Class of 2010 refused to be defined solely by their achievements in the classroom. Taking advantage of new study abroad, service immersion and community-based learning programs, a record number of students had transformative out-of-the-classroom experiences. More of them spent a summer, a semester or even a whole year studying overseas than ever before. And more of them worked to make a difference in underserved communities, both abroad and in Temple's backyard. For many graduating seniors, these active learning opportunities have shaped career choices and made them more attractive to prospective employers — just in time to help them cope with a tough job market.