Design Thinking and Innovation

This course is an immersive, project-based course for high school students who want to enter college with clarity and confidence. The course treats the journey from college applications through college graduation as a five-year project worth designing well: transitioning into an academic environment with real opportunities (and real pressures), a social world that shapes who you become, and a launchpad for careers and adulthood. Students learn how to make deliberate choices, build strong habits early, and use campus resources intelligently so they can thrive academically, socially, and personally.

Across the course, students examine the most common “tensions” of undergraduate life—exploration vs. focus, ambition vs. wellbeing, career vs. passion, individualism vs. belonging—and develop concrete strategies for navigating them. We translate big questions (“What should I study?” “How do I find my people?” “How do I stand out in large classes?” “What if I change my mind?”) into manageable decisions and small experiments students can run in their first term. Drawing on design thinking approaches (including ideas adapted from Life Design), students will prototype possible first-year plans, anticipate challenges, and create an actionable roadmap aligned with their goals and values. Students use autobiographical writing techniques to reflect on their formative experiences, values, and intellectual interests, and then translate that self-understanding—in addition to deeper understanding of college life—into stronger application essays. The emphasis is less on “hacks” and more on crafting an authentic, compelling narrative that reflects genuine curiosity and readiness for college-level learning.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, students leave with:

1. A clearer sense of what they want from college
2. A plan for their first year
3. Communication and decision-making skills they can carry into college admissions, course and major-selection, internships, friendships, research opportunities, and the early stages of career exploration.

Guest Speakers may include:

• Current college students
• Current college faculty/academic advisors
• College counselors who can help you think about jobs after college
• Experiences with team work, new kinds of social situations and how to organize time in college



Information is subject to change as instructors finalize course content and syllabi.