Building an Intentional Life

Over the course of her career, Sarah Wolek had worked at several mission-driven organizations. To her surprise, she kept meeting both early and mid-career colleagues who were unhappy — in their work and life. “I began to wonder how and why people ended up in jobs and lives that weren’t authentic to them,” she explained. In an attempt to solve this puzzle, Sarah began thinking about teaching undergraduates. “I wanted to work with young adults before they made decisions that led them away from themselves.” So, Sarah started teaching career development courses “with the hope that I could help young people connect to their sense of purpose so that they could choose something that would be fulfilling for them in the long run.”

Sarah soon realized that having a sense of purpose was only a piece of the puzzle, “My students had questions that went beyond jobs and careers. I was dealing with issues in the classroom related to wellness, relationships and community.” These questions are what led Sarah to build The Intentional Life Lab, a program designed to create opportunities for students to develop their whole selves by working on all areas of their lives.

In developing the Lab, Sarah identified six foundational pillars for leading an intentional life: purpose, wellness, prosperity, relationships, community, and nature. “Academics in higher education have traditionally focused on intellectual and professional development, but at the same time students also need to intentionally work on developing their sense of self. Who are they? Who do they want to become? The Intentional Life Lab facilitates this self-exploration by offering classes and experiences.”

When Sarah decided to jump in and build the Lab from the ground up, she met with a diverse set of potential partners on and off campus and learned of a course taught at Maryland-Smith called Creating a Purposeful Life and Career. “That led to a conversation with course creators Rajshree Agarwal and Christina Elson of the Ed Snider Center. Right from the beginning they were both incredibly supportive of this work.” That’s how she found a home, the Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets, where she could build the lab.

The Lab’s courses and experiences, designed by Sarah, are affiliated with a variety of schools and colleges at the University of Maryland and are available to students all across campus. Courses launching in 2020-2021 include The Intentional Self, Choosing your Major and Career, Careers in Impact, and The Intentional Leader. The Lab’s 2020-2021 experiential activities are limited to webinars this coming year and will include guests from all walks of life sharing their personal life story with students.

“The main goal of the Intentional Life Lab is to show students that they can be entrepreneurial in creating themselves and their life. I am looking forward to working with Terps.”

Stevi Calandra, Ed Snider Center Media and Marketing Director, is a writer, producer and editor whose work has appeared on National Geographic and Discovery Channels among others.