An introductory survey course in software engineering is now required at many accredited undergraduate institutions in the United States. The usual presentation of material consists of student projects that showcase design, development, and testing methodologies. While this approach does provide a foundation, students are left without professional interaction. This is especially significant for students in traditionally underrepresented groups, as these students often lack external networks for opportunity relative to well-represented student populations. However, with the profusion of open source projects today, students can gain a realistic software engineering experience by direct (albeit distributed) participation. This paper highlights lessons learned, and student outcomes, from using an active open source project integrated with the typical introductory survey course in software engineering.