how to organize your life after graduation

“I came into DYL thinking I had it all figured out. To see that these dreams were in fact more attainable than I thought they were.”

To come up with plans to get what I want. Working through DYL gave me the validation I needed to dream. I was able to take myself out of my present setting and think, ‘What would I do if I could do anything? Where would I go?’ Somewhere along the way I had become scared, and I had decided that I was comfortable where I was. “Designing Your Life gave me ‘permission’ to dream. “Because of DYL, I not only got my dream job after college, but was super intentional about my life- friendships, health, hobbies, relationships, etc, in a way that I wouldn’t have been otherwise that made life after college just as fun, if not more fun, than my time at Stanford, which I didn’t think was possible!” WHAT ARE STUDENTS SAYING?Ĭheck out this article by Nick Benavides, Class of 2019, Co-President of ASES, in which Nick shares some of what he got out taking the course. Enrollment is limited and often over-subscribed. Class is open to juniors and seniors of any major. This course is offered in the Autumn, Winter and Spring terms. This is a 2-unit class, meets once a week and is graded on credit/no credit basis. This is an experiential class that includes seminar-style discussions, personal written reflections, guest speakers, and individual mentoring/coaching. The capstone assignment is the creation of an “Odyssey Plan” focusing on taking action in the 3-5 years following your Stanford graduation. We also touch on the realities of engaging the workplace, and practices that support vocation formation throughout your life. Topics include the integration of work and worldviews, ideation techniques, a portfolio approach to thriving, designing to increase balance and energy and how to prototype all aspects of your life. The course employs a design thinking approach to help students from any major develop a constructive and effective approach to finding and designing their lives and vocations after Stanford. This class offers a framework, tools, and most importantly a place and a community of peers and mentors where we’ll work on these issues through assigned readings, reflections, and in-class exercises.

The course uses design thinking to address the “wicked problem” of designing your life and career.

How to organize your life after graduation