Throughout our lives, we can struggle with well-being. For some, like Dr. Louis Tay, associate professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences, this struggle can lead to a calling to answer a profound question – “What makes people feel well?” Pondering this question caused Tay to transition from his engineering major at the University of Singapore to the study of psychology and, later, to graduate school. After working with the leading research on well-being, it wasn’t surprising when Tay was tapped to work with Steps to Leaps. In his work with the initiative, he has created a cohort of like-minded researchers to examine how their research can contribute to what we know about the Steps to Leaps pillars – leadership, well-being, impact, networks and grit/persistence – as well as how we can use that research for the benefit of Purdue students. Tay has also led the development of a science of well-being course with 100 students.

“The course talks about both the signs and practice of well-being,” Tay says. “Students will get to come in and think about things very skeptically and scientifically, meaning that they are trying to understand what works in terms of well-being practices and what has been shown to be validated at the same time. Students have the opportunity to put these practices into their own lives and then examine it for themselves and track it – does it actually work for them? There’s a wide variation in what works for some individuals.”

Just like his work with the research collaborative, Tay has taken what he has learned in research and works with his students to see it in practice.

Tay also incorporates Steps to Leaps into his course more generally. In the first class, he talked about how the course emerged from Steps to Leaps and gives context for how Steps to Leaps provides tools for student well-being while also introducing all the pillars. He has invited the Steps to Leaps Students organization to present to his class to show them how they can get more involved in growing within the pillars. It is within these additional pillar areas that new courses may spawn.

“I would love it if we had courses for students that will all align with the different pillars,” Tay says. “The next course that I would love to do would be something like a resilience, grit or character formation them, and maybe even merge that with leadership in some way.”

When talking to his faculty colleagues about these ideas and concepts within Steps to Leaps, Tay does say that some find the concept of Steps to Leaps opaque. However, he says that once explained, people see the purpose and understand the impact it can have. This has led to more faculty being involved in the research collaborative.

“The research collaborative folks are great because they see the value in it and they are very much on board to share their expertise, especially in terms of tips of the week,” Tay says.

If you too are looking for ways to show your colleagues how Steps to Leaps can be used to support students, Tay suggests providing them with the Steps to Leaps “First 5 Minutes” slide deck or simply sharing that the initiative exists and talking about the pillars. Simple questions can get the conversation started.

“With regard to well-being and networks, you can open up your class by asking them how everyone is feeling on a one to five scale,” Tay says. “You get a sense of where everybody is. It doesn't need to be high-tech or prepared. There are some weeks when you really see students’ well-being is at an all-time low because of exams. I think it's very helpful for professors to be mindful of that so that they are also caring for students’ well-being.”