New Global Course Empowers Carlson Transfer Students

In the first week of the course Design Your Life in a Global Context, instructor Lisa Novack relayed an assignment to the room full of new transfer students: Write a letter to your future self that describes what you hope to learn during your first semester at Minnesota Carlson.

All undergraduate students take the required Design Your Life course, which aims to give them tools and strategies to create a college experience that aligns with their personal values, interests, needs and goals. Undergraduate requirements also include an international experience. This first-ever “In a Global Context” version of Design Your Life, launched in the Fall 2025 semester, culminated with 10 days in Japan, combining two essential curriculum components into one efficient, community-building program specifically tailored to transfer students.

“We know that transfer students have unique needs. They might have a clear goal or a shorter timeline, since they already have credits,” says Novack, Carlson director of Student Engagement and Development. “So this class was specifically built to help them get connected to the Carlson community right away and build a peer support network to help them in their time here.”

Preparation for Japan wove nicely into greater class goals. “Lisa made the class super engaging and interactive. At the start of each class, she taught us a new Japanese word, and she also brought us a new Japanese snack,” says Faith Tian, a former nursing major who chose Carlson for her pivot to business for its strong programs, resources and opportunities. Especially at this stage of her career exploration, Tian found the Japanese concept of “ikigai,” or finding one’s purpose, compelling. The concept also previewed the culture Tian and her peers were about to experience.

Novack worked with the Carlson Global Institute to plan the students’ time in Japan thoughtfully to integrate business learnings, cultural activities and reflection. At company visits, for instance, students learned about business and culture, including wellbeing and inclusion initiatives. They also connected with Carlson alumni who live and work in Tokyo. “Because these are transfer students in their first semester at Carlson, many are just beginning to build their exposure to the business world,” Novack says. “It was a confidence boost for all of them to see the power of being part of the Carlson community, seeing the doors that could open for them.”

More proof of the power of the Carlson community: The entire experience was funded by the Carlson Family Foundation, which provides scholarships through the Carlson Global Institute. “I work full time while I’m in school and live in an apartment off-campus, so knowing that at some point I would have to figure out how to come up with the funds for an awesome study abroad experience was a big stressor. I had no idea how I was going to make that work,” says Jeremiah Lucas, a Finance major who transferred to Carlson from a local community college. “To be able to take that stress completely off my mind made the time so much more enjoyable. I couldn’t be more thankful.”

The group visited the Okinawa Peace Memorial Park, participated in a matcha tea ceremony and spent time meditating and gratitude journaling. Toward the end of the experience, when it was time for “shinrin-yoku,” or forest bathing — nature-based reflection time — Novack presented the students with the letters they wrote to themselves five months earlier. “I completely forgot about it until then,” Lucas says. “Reading it back while sitting with this group of people that I’d become really good friends with and seeing how much I had grown in such a short time … it was super cool to reflect on that.”

The last day in Japan was the last day of the course, so Novack gathered the group for a final debrief. She introduced the Japanese concept of “ma” — an intentional pause that allows for beauty in the in between, making space to breathe, feel, connect, and therefore grow. “I realized that this class became that pause for me,” Tian says. “As a transfer student, I came into Carlson feeling behind and pressured to have everything figured out, but this course gave me the space to slow down, reflect and reconnect with my values and wellbeing.”

Lucas agrees. “This class, this whole experience, made me feel a lot more confident about who I am and the decisions I’ve made,” he says. “It changed how I think about everything. It changed my life.”