LearningWell Magazine

Like most colleges and universities, the University of Michigan came out of the pandemic reeling, awash with a host of new and heightened community mental health concerns. True to Michigan’s culture, its response was to go big. In 2021, Michigan made wellbeing across campus an institutional priority by becoming one of the first eight U.S. universities to adopt the Okanagan Charter, a framework and commitment to infuse health promotion into policies and systems at every level.

In September 2025, Suzy Welch made waves with an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that asks a question many, it seems, were already asking themselves: “Is Gen Z Unemployable?“ Welch is an author and professor at the NYU Stern School of Business, and widely known as the founder and C.E.O. of Becoming You Labs, a think tank and product design studio that helps disseminate Becoming You to schools and organizations around the world.

Two colleagues from different institutions share their experience and wisdom in how to lead campuses in wellbeing promotion.

Going to college is a fate-determining decision that is often driven by external factors such as family expectations or securing a good paying job. Indeed, given the cost of tuition, knowing that your degree will lead to employment is one reason the value of higher education is increasingly being measured in metrics, namely first-year earnings. But does that mean that intrinsic gains like intellectual growth and finding your purpose in life are no longer part of the equation?

For generations of college students, having a campus job typically meant swiping meal cards, shelving library books, and staffing residence halls in shifts squeezed between classes and into the evenings. Madison LoMedico’s campus job looked different. Three mornings a week, the SUNY Oneonta student went to an elementary school, where she worked with young students in one of the district’s highest-poverty schools. Some days she led reading groups or helped students catch up in math.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxbJuKhVk40 In this story, Olin student Dre Hilton wrestles with the meaning of good and bad. Dre lives in a world with a lot of good and bad around him, and he sees both good and bad within himself. What does it mean for Dre when he moves from his childhood home to college, where the range between good and bad shrinks? Dre encourages all of us to embrace the complexity of who we are, and the systems we chose to engage with.

When many people imagine old-school college career services, they see a basement office, tucked away in some undesirable part of campus. The staff there are well-meaning but not particularly helpful. Mostly, they push resume guidebooks across their desks, offering shallow words of encouragement: “Good luck, and we hope you find your future.” Joseph Catrino, who runs career services at Dartmouth College, knows this vision is becoming quickly outdated.

Amanda Christy was searching for something and so, it seems, were her students. As a faculty member at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, she was frustrated by her students’ lack of engagement and their reliance on A.I. even for basic work like classroom discussion. She was tired of persuading them of the value of their liberal arts education when they bemoaned not being in business classes.

When Adam Delaney entered college in 2024, he’d already honed a remarkable set of skills. He wasn’t fresh off captaining a high school team or founding a club like many other first-years. Around the time most of his classmates were born, Delaney was 19, joining the Marines, and readying for combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. In his 20s, he was concerned about life or death, rather than As or Fs. That doesn’t mean navigating higher ed came easily when he decided to go back for his bachelor’s at 40.

On this episode of LearningWell Radio, psychiatrist Mathilde Ross of Boston University shares wisdom and advice for students heading off to college — and their parents — from her new book, "How to Thrive at College: A Guide to the Ups and Downs of Mental Health on Campus." Ross’ candid and thoughtful account of her work with young people is at once surprising, instructive, and hopeful. Listen now on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.