Students at a business class in Brooklyn’s Medgar Evers College ended their semester in the midst of a global pandemic but came away feeling less anxious and more optimistic than before.
As the Covid-19 outbreak began to hammer New York earlier this year, Professor Ayana Koné was teaching a business class that included the positive psychology program, In Pursuit of Purpose. Designed by Discovering My Purpose, an Atlanta-based 501(c)3, the free, sponsor-supported program provides positive-psychology training for under-served youth and college students.
“I noticed a marked difference between the students who had experienced In Pursuit of Purpose compared to my students who had not,” Koné says. “These students had an air of hope and positivity. They were also more focused on self-care, which is such an important part of resilience.”
Professor Koné had found the program beneficial to her students in the past, but she expected results to be different this semester in light of how hard Brooklyn was being hit by COVID 19. But she wound up being surprised. In a comprehensive evaluation completed before and after finishing the program, Medgar Evers students reported their anxiety decreased by 30 percent on average, even while dealing with the challenges of living in the epicenter of the outbreak. These students also came away with an 11 percent boost in their reported happiness, while increasing their grit, self-esteem and body image.
“You’re being asked to find your way in a world in the middle of a devastating pandemic and a terrible recession,” said former President Barack Obama in a recent virtual graduation speech for historically black colleges and universities, including Medgar Evers.
Students at Medgar Evers already face significant challenges to complete their studies — more than a quarter come from families in the bottom fifth of the income bracket, and only 13 percent of enrolled students end up graduating.
“A large portion of our students work full-time while going to school full-time and this takes a big toll on the number of students who successfully graduate,” says Dr. Jo-Ann Rolle, Dean of the College of Business, at Medgar Evers. “We implemented In Pursuit of Purpose to address these resilience and retention challenges.”
To effectively help students who often face additional obstacles in completing their schooling in even the best of times, In Pursuit of Purpose guides students in developing self-directed neuroplasticity. That is, learning to consciously rewire their brains to reduce negative thoughts and mentalities, while adopting more positive and productive outlooks. In the process, students learn to identify their personal strengths and passions and connect them with meaningful life goals.
In Pursuit of Purpose relies on video modules and exercises to offer students greater insight into how to manage their emotions: identifying and alleviating harmful thought loops, framing setbacks in constructive ways and providing prompts for self-reflection.
Students noted in anonymous feedback responses that the program helped them feel greater ownership over their life, such as learning to manage stress, build constructive habits and developing greater persistence in chasing their dreams.
“With all my free time due to these challenging times, In Pursuit of Purpose has become a daily practice for me,” said one student, adding that they had taken to sharing what they learned with family and friends.
“I have been able to just sit without any distractions and connect with myself in ways that work for me, which is writing down my thoughts in my journal and meditating,” added another.
A third student found that changing words in their inner dialogue helped them deal with the difficult circumstances — not using the words “can’t” and “won’t.”
“Changing those words in my vocabulary really helps me during this challenging time because I’m getting a lot of things done that I said I ‘can’t’ do,” the student said.
Before the class began, most of these students said that perseverance was not one of their top strengths (though love of learning tended to be). Identifying clear and meaningful goals in life, as In Pursuit of Purpose aims to help students develop, has been shown to increase perseverance by tapping into intrinsic motivation and passion.
“It helps you in times where you want to give up, it helps you push yourself and help you figure out the person you are,” a student wrote. “It basically teaches you how to handle yourself in whatever environment you are in and I am definitely thankful for In Pursuit of Purpose.”