Undergraduate student participants at the 2025 Aggies Leading the Way! Conference were offered the chance to find clarity through Life Design. The Center for Leadership Learning's flagship annual conference also provided students a sneak peek at new programming the center plans to roll out in the fall.

Over 100 students participated in the conference, which introduced the Life Design framework. The Life Design Lab, developed by Stanford University, seeks to applies design thinking to tackling the "wicked" problems of life and vocational wayfinding. Students went on a journey to explore their roots up through the present day and then envision their future. Students contemplated a series of questions that ranged from identifying interests and skills needed for next steps, drafting life prototypes and exploring ways to move through fear and self-doubt. Finally, students created diagrams for the odyssey planning portion of the conference. The program aimed to position students as leaders advancing social innovation while they pursued their individual goals and life’s vision.

“I constructed three different pathways and found that maybe my unrealistic goals are actually realistic,” student Katheryn Gutierrez said. “If I wanted to invest and attend grad school, there is a possibility I can do both.”  

Past conferences introduced students to various leadership concepts, personal growth sessions, discovery workshops and moving through life’s disruptions. The Center’s Director Christie Navarro said the conference theme often reflects current dynamics happening in the world. 

“The conference provided an opportunity to gauge students’ interest in Life Design. Students embraced these new concepts, which led them to consider new possibilities,” Navarro said. “In feedback surveys, students said they found the framework helpful when planning their future.”

Michael Bradford, vice provost and dean of UC Davis Undergraduate Education delivered the keynote address to attendees. Incorporating the clarity theme into his remarks, he addressed the importance of having meaning in one’s life and work. He encouraged students to seek out that balance. 

“My whole life has been a linear structure, so being able to construct many different life paths during the activities with other people helped me realize I am not stuck in one path,” student Duong Khuu said. “It turns out there are things I am passionate about that I can potentially incorporate in my life.”

In summer 2024, the center began a yearlong journey to restructure the leadership education programs to more closely align with supporting students’ growth and success after graduation. The center expects to provide information on its restructuring in fall. 

 “Leadership education will always be at the forefront of what we do. Incorporating Life Design into our programming enables us to holistically guide and support our next generation of leaders,” Navarro said.  

The Center for Leadership Learning and the annual Aggies Leading the Way! Conference are part of UC Davis Undergraduate Education.