Mario Aranda | Pixabay
The faces of the 300 parents and guardians attending the first orientation session for the Boston College Class of 2026 revealed emotions ranging from hopefulness to consternation as they filed into Robsham Theater Arts Center for a presentation on a heady topic: how to help their new first-year students find their way, both in college and in life.
Leading the seminar were Belle Liang, a professor in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development鈥檚 Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology department, and Tim Klein, a licensed certified social worker and project lead for Liang鈥檚 True North digital app, designed to help students discover pathways to finding purpose in college and life.听 The duo are the co-authors of How to Navigate Life: The New Science of Finding Your Way in School, Career, and Beyond, a new book to be released in August.
Given the session鈥檚 pre-college timing, the lecture鈥檚 title, and the families鈥� current and future university investment, expectations for a surefire path to success were high. But Liang and Klein, in a congenial, empathetic, and research-driven way, re-routed the attendees鈥� focus away from student performance toward finding 鈥減urpose鈥� 鈥� their child鈥檚 鈥渢rue north鈥� 鈥� which according to the authors is the key to harnessing the core qualities that lead to choosing a course of study and a career.
鈥淚nstead of following a step-by-step set of directions, life should be guided by a personal compass,鈥� said Liang, highlighting the book鈥檚 central theme. 鈥淗aving a clear sense of purpose, grounded in core values, can help your students choose the best direction for themselves.鈥澨�
Belle Liang (Caitlin Cunningham)
How to Navigate Life听reflects the collective personal and professional experiences of Liang and Klein, who have devoted their careers to counseling individual students, and to providing guidance that slices through the daily pressures to achieve, whether they are imposed by society, parents, or peers, or are self-inflicted.
鈥淭he performance mindset centers on pursuing success and achieving as much as possible, a scenario that leads to a constant and insatiable desire to do more,鈥� said Liang, the parent of a recent 51暗网 grad and a high school senior. 鈥淪eeking achievement in this way is powered by fear, and self-worth becomes exclusively dependent on how accomplished we are.鈥�
The pair also outlined the danger of the 鈥減assion mindset鈥濃�� which poses personal happiness as the defining characteristic of success鈥攃iting the disappointment likely to follow when unrealistic expectations for constant happiness are not met.
Instead, their book demonstrates that successful individuals tap into their 鈥減urpose鈥� 鈥� a combination of performance and passion applicable to every aspect of life, from college majors and careers to important life decisions.
鈥淥ur book bridges the gap between generic advice and allegedly foolproof `life hacks鈥� by providing an empirically-based decision-making framework, and shared language to navigate the inflection points in life,鈥� said Klein, a former Harvard University teaching fellow, high school guidance counselor, and outreach director for Summer Search, a national youth development non-profit serving historically underrepresented student populations. 鈥淲e鈥檝e culled together the science and knowledge we鈥檝e gained through our joint experience as educators, mentors, practitioners, and parents.鈥�
Among the tools that Liang and Klein provide is a questionnaire that homes in on a young person鈥檚 values, to help them understand their niche and match them to one of four roles, such as a creative and independent role called 鈥渢railblazer,鈥� or a communal, stability-oriented character, dubbed 鈥済uardian.鈥� Likewise, they offer toolkits for mentors that pose questions and scripts to assist them in connecting with mentees.听 Their systematic advice prioritizes cultivating students鈥� self-discovery and drawing out their intrinsic interests鈥攖he antithesis of the ubiquitous 鈥渟nowplow parenting鈥� style of child-rearing driven by fear, obsession with future success, and the constant impulse to shovel obstacles from kids鈥� paths.
“Instead of following a step-by-step set of directions, life should be guided by a personal compass. Having a clear sense of purpose, grounded in core values, can help your students choose the best direction for themselves.”
William Stixrud, a clinical neuropsychologist, and PrepMatters鈥� founder Ned Johnson, the authors of The Self-Driven Child, 肠丑补谤补肠迟别谤颈锄别诲听How to Navigate Life as an 鈥渋mportant book that offers dozens of strategies for self-discovery, for supporting young people鈥檚 sense of autonomy, and for affirming their emerging sense of self.
鈥淟iang and Klein skillfully teach parents, educators, and other caring adults how to build respectful, genuine, and trusting relationships with their children and students...to guide young people to discover who they really are and become their best selves.鈥�
Elon University鈥檚 President Emeritus Leo M. Lambert, and Peter Felton, assistant provost for Teaching and Learning, the co-authors of Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connection Drive Success in College, noted that 鈥渁t a time when young people are clamoring for guidance to make sense of the world and to navigate college, life, and careers, Liang and Klein have written a guidebook that is clear, insightful, honest and practical.鈥�
Tufts University鈥檚 Richard M. Lerner, an expert in positive youth development, praised the book as "masterfully written, compelling, and engaging,鈥� while providing 鈥渁nswers to parents鈥� fundamental concern: How to raise children whose lives involve not only financial well-being but positive purpose, valued contributions to self and others, and joy and fulfillment.鈥�
Dr. Pamela Ebstyne King, executive director of the Thrive Center for Human Development, described the book as 鈥渙ne of the most helpful and hopeful applications of psychology that I have ever read."
Phil Gloudemans | University Communications | July 2022
听