Focus Areas

When Hannah Herrera entered college, she thought she wanted to be an athletic trainer and physical therapist. In high school she’d been on the cross-country, track, and dance teams, and had a strong inclination towards helping student athletes. At Tulane University, she took a class in life design principles, and…

Bob Waldinger is a psychiatrist, a professor at Harvard Medical School, and the Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the world’s longest scientific study of happiness.  His new book, The Good Life, with Dr. Marc Schulz, provides insights regarding what makes some people happier and more satisfied than…

As agents of socialization, colleges and universities serve important roles for young people to construct their identity and find community in addition to acquiring knowledge and skills. Students’ wellbeing is directly related to their learning, performance, development, and flourishing on campus. For these reasons, institutions are prioritizing the wellbeing of…

Sometimes first experiences can last a lifetime, which is why colleges and universities are raising the bar on programs that start before students begin school and continue throughout that important first year. From camping to community service, these experiential learning programs double as socializing opportunities to acclimate students to college…

In his first-year seminar class, Commencing Character, Professor Michael Lamb asks his students to consider how seven strategies for character development are exemplified in some of history’s most memorable commencement speeches.  At the end of the semester, the students are asked to write their own addresses, revealing the virtues they…

Can today’s students, having grown up in this fast-paced, digital world, inundated by content capped at 60 seconds, learn to slow down? At The Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts, Jen Hamilton arranged for her high schoolers to try with the help of “savoring stations,” including sweet treats, rich…

Almost without exception, they felt ready to leave college. Notwithstanding all the nerves and nostalgia, of which there were plenty, the recent graduates, now between six months and five years out, could recall at least some part of themselves that had been looking forward to the next phase. Many had…