Projects with specific, agreed-upon-in-advance deliverables and crystal-clear student roles have strong odds of running smoothly and typically face manageable variability. However, well-defined projects afford students fewer, less robust opportunities to innovate and develop problem-solving skills. This session reflects on a recent CEL course in order to challenge participants to imagine how we can design more ambiguous and ambitious projects that trust—and even solicit—students’ talent and initiative. Session participants will evaluate how project experiences and outcomes change when students are granted more autonomy; identify the risks and rewards of democratized CEL; explore how student engagement with a wicked problem like youth media consumption affects their civic attitudes; apply project planning and management takeaways to participants’ own professional contexts.