2026 Summer Convening Materials

Summer Convening Overview

The 2026 Summer Convening was hosted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and included two days of activities to engage campus partner staff in community building and peer-to-peer learning activities. Materials and resources from the convening are below for your review.

2026 Summer Convening Agenda     2026 Summer Convening Photos

Summer Convening Slides

Resources and Materials

Life Design

Originally developed at Stanford University, life design is a framework that applies aspects of design thinking to one's personal and professional development. Justin Lorts, Senior Director of Scholars and Fellows Programs at Johns Hopkins University, led an engaging workshop on life design and how it can benefit upper-level Kessler Scholars.

To learn more about life design, review the following resources:

• TEDx Talk by Dave Evans, co-creator of the life design framework
• Stanford University Life Design Course Overview
• 5 Steps to Designing the Life You Want | TEDxStanford

Ripple Effect Mapping

Ripple Effect Mapping is a tool that can help us explore the broader campus impact of the Kessler Scholars Program—what we're calling the "Kessler Effect." In an interactive session led by the Ithaka S+R evaluation team, you learned how the knowledge and outcomes created by campus program staff can support efforts to institutionalize our work with first-generation, limited-income students.

To learn more about Ripple Effect Mapping, review the following resources: 

• Preparing for the Ripple Effect Mapping Session (one-pager)
• Ripple Effect Mapping | Evaluation Tool | UMN Extension
• Our Ripple Effect Mapping Approach | Informing Change