Life Design course empowers students to achieve career goals

April 9, 2024

Being in college means students are asking big questions about the future.

What do I want to do with my life? 

What are my plans for the future? 

How do I meet people in my chosen profession?

Jodi stands in front of a room with a presentation on the projector behind her. You can see the backs of several students.
Senior Director of the Berry Career Institute Jodi Shafer talks with students about how to give their “elevator pitch” at the Career Fair during a Block 6 class session.

The Berry Career Institute team helps students shape their futures in an adjunct course called Life Design, named after the textbook for the class–“Designing Your Life” by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. The course takes place Blocks 5–7.

Students complete exercises thinking about who they wish to be, learn from and interview professionals, explore various industries, and develop material for internship, job, and graduate school applications. The goal is for students completing the course to leave confident and prepared for the transition from college to career.

“They are acting and trying things out rather than just thinking about it,” said Berry Career Institute’s Director of Employer Relations and Career Coaching Jason Napoli.  “It’s really easy to sit back and say ‘Oh, I might want to do this or that.’ Well, this course and the book challenge them to take that a step further and act on what they want to do.”

Napoli is joined by Senior Director of the Berry Career Institute Jodi Shafer and Associate Director of the Dimensions Program for Health Professions Mark Kendall, who hold class sessions three times each block on Tuesdays from 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. This quarter credit adjunct course also includes a couple of additional events students must attend outside those hours.

MkpoutoAbasi James speaks to a small circle of students.
MkpoutoAbasi James practices what she’ll say at the Career Fair to potential employers.

Every assignment is very practical with students learning skills they can directly apply to their future job search. The final project requires students to seek out three people for a life design interview, so they can learn about how professionals landed in their careers and how those professionals could help provide connections for the future. 

“We want them to learn about different professions and get them talking to people who can share their experiences,” said Senior Director of the Berry Career Institute Jodi Schafer. “They are out in the world gaining information and finding opportunities by networking.”

Cornell students from first-years through seniors are encouraged to take the course. Along with networking, students also learn valuable skills about social networking on LinkedIn and get a designated career coach to discuss goals and opportunities.

“I really like that it is for all four years of our students. Two students are going to get very different things out of the course,” Kendall said. “The way this helps a first-year student, in many ways, might just be more of the initial building of networks or strategies for coping with difficult classes. Whereas for a senior, it’s very practical because they’re at their jumping-off point and want to know how they make everything line up with their timetable.”

Students taking the course say they’re learning valuable lessons. In fact, they’re asked to fill out an evaluation at the end of the course, and last year’s were all positive:

  • “This class has given me so much knowledge on how my major and connections matter.”
  • “This is a phenomenal course and so practical.”
  • “It helped me feel more confident in myself and my future.”

“I learned about myself, failure immunity, and various skills to use for future employment and personal endeavors/challenges.”

The trio of professionals from the Berry Career Institute plan to continue offering this as an adjunct course every year. Students register for the course (INT 505) when they register for their regular spring classes.