Design Your Life is a full-day, hands-on workshop that helps students apply design thinking tools to real decisions about life, career, and what comes after college. Led by Dr. Andrew Hanna and Mike Smith, founder of The Bay, the workshop is built for students who want practical structure, clarity, and direction, not vague advice or motivational talk.
Throughout the day, participants will work through guided activities that help identify personal values, explore career and life options, and test different paths forward. Using design thinking principles, you’ll learn how to break big, overwhelming questions into manageable steps, reframe uncertainty, and make intentional choices based on what matters to you.
By the end of the workshop, students will leave with a clear set of takeaways, including a better understanding of their priorities, a short list of potential paths to explore, and a realistic five-year plan they can adjust over time. The tools used in this session are practical and repeatable, meaning you can apply them again when making decisions about internships, careers, graduate school, or other major life changes.
The Design Your Life Workshop takes place on Friday, February 20, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with check-in starting at 8:30 a.m. The event will be held in Hawks Hall, room 231, in the Nebraska College of Business. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.
This workshop is open to students from all majors and class years. No prior experience with design thinking is required, just a willingness to actively participate and think honestly about what you want from your future.
Learn more and register here: https://go.unl.edu/entrdesignthinking
More details at: https://go.unl.edu/entrdesignthinking