Grant Theme 1: Consider Life Design

Approximately five grants of $1000 (course design) or $500 (course redesign) available

51% of students are not confident in their career path when they enroll in college[1]
Students are overwhelmed and discouraged by failures and hurdles
Even confident students may be uninformed about key aspects of their major and desired profession

The life design approach can address indecision and build resilience by helping students to:

Embrace an active role in their career process with designer mindsets
Prioritize self-knowledge (e.g., identifying values, interests, traits)
Explore options (e.g., actively investigate majors and careers through networking, research and experiences)
Work with a community of supporters to build a way forward, one step at a time

Check out these resources to learn more and get inspired to Consider Life Design in your classroom:

Stanford’s Life Design Lab
Life Design at Bowling Green State University
The Ten Frameworks of Life Design from Julia Lang (2024 Longwood Teaching & Learning Institute Keynote Speaker) of the Tulane University Taylor Center

Recipients of the 2024-2025 Consider Life Design Course Grants Group photo of six faculty members standing indoors in front of a screen. They are smiling and dressed casually to business casual, representing the Faculty Grant Cohort 2025. The room has a patterned carpet and neutral walls.

(Pictured left to right)

Jeff Ledford, MATH 101
CJ Alderson, PSYC 120
Ronda Walker, CSDS 110
Kris Paal, COMM 105
Lee Bidwell, CTZN 110
Naomi Johnson, course development coach

[1] Business Wire. (2019, October 14). New survey: Student confusion selecting majors increases higher education cost and time to degree.

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