When Mike Donegan sent the two groups of students out on a “Well-Being Walkabout” for their last assignment in their Positive Psychology class, he told them, “Well-being isn’t just taught — it’s felt, seen, lived.” 

Juniors Lizzie Havens and Stella Foote were paired together as were classmates Luca Gallo and Will Ruberton on Tuesday, May 26, just days before the school year ended. They were asked to find four spots on campus that meant something to them. “These might be spots that invite reflection, play, awe, gratitude, or laughter ... places that in their own way help our community flourish,” Mike said in his instructions to the students.  

The students produced a Power Point from photos and short reflections on why the spots mattered, using come concepts from the course. Luca and Will stopped in the student center, “the SNUG,” as it’s known on campus. “Some places on campus ask things of you — grades, performance, focus,” they wrote. “The SNUG gives something back. ... Late at night it becomes a refuge for laughter, conversations, smiles, and people engaging. Positive emotion matters more than we think. A simple conversation and laughter can completely change someone's day.” 

Lizzie and Stella stopped first at a firepit in front of Flagg and Ammidon halls and were inspired to write a poem about relationships growing stronger over a crackling fire, country song singalongs and marshmallows roasting, strangers turning into friends, and “smoke trying to push you away but the vibes make you stay.”  

Lizzie and Stella also chose the Meadows, where they liked to relax away from the bustling “city” that is the Island; a spot outside the dining hall, where they might encounter friendly faculty dogs; and the balcony of Howe Hall. They called the balcony a place that is always there, be it “celebrating a good day or escaping a bad one. … Nothing is better on a warm day in May. Music blasting through speakers or headphones. Or just the sound of trees moving and birds chirping.”  

Luca and Will’s three other spots were Rockefeller Quad, Pratt Field, and community dinners.  

The quad, they wrote, “on warm afternoons becomes a kind of heartbeat for campus, conversations drifting through the grass, and natural relationships blooming. ...  It reminds us that well-being is often built in small moments we barely notice while they are happening.”  

Pratt Field brings “people together playing sports, supporting each other, and hanging out.” What makes it meaningful, they wrote, is not only the competition, but also “the way teammates become family.”  

The community dinners, they wrote, were about slowing down and reminded them that “we belong to something bigger than us. Our community grows through shared experiences, traditions, and presence.”