ABSTRACT
In 2018, the University of Dayton launched a mini-course entitled “Design Your Life” through its Institute of Applied Creativity for Transformation (IACT). The curriculum is based off of a course that originated at Stanford University’s d.school, from which IACT was selected as one of the initial 13 university partners to adapt the curriculum to our own campuses. UD’s Marianist identity – with our Head/Heart/Hands philosophy of education as well as our commitment to vocation as an institutional learning goal – has offered an opportunity to expand the original curriculum to one that directly supports our university’s mission. Life design at UD starts with reflection practices of vocational discernment, and then integrates core principles of design thinking to provide a practical approach to vocational wayfinding. This chapter offers firsthand perspectives from the author’s four semesters of course instruction, including student feedback and impact. It also highlights key elements of the course pedagogy, encouraging readers to adapt and utilize these vocational discernment tools for their own institutions.
