BOWLING GREEN – Audrey Rowland did not have a college major in mind as her senior year at Sylvania Southview High School was winding down in 2023.
“I did so many things in high school and I have so many interests,” the Sylvania Township native said. “I’m a first-generation college student, and I had no idea what college looked like. I just knew I wanted to go.”
Rowland, now 21, toured the Bowling Green State University campus in 2023 and was introduced to the school’s Life Design program, which was launched in 2020 under current BGSU President Dr. Rodney Rogers.
“It was just what I needed to figure out college and how to be a college student,” Rowland said. “I didn’t have anyone in my life who had been to a four-year university. I didn’t know what college would look like.
“I was jumping into it without a lot of knowledge and I needed a lot of guidance. I went in undecided.”
Life Design changed her life.
The program’s goal is to help BGSU students build confidence in their decisions, build a framework on how to differentiate their experience, and empower them with the skills they need to navigate their career and life in general.
Adrienne Ausdenmoore is the associate vice president and executive director of the Radbill Center for College and Life Design at BGSU. Originally from West Virginia, she attended the University of Dayton and has been at Bowling Green for four years.
She has been involved with Life Design since 2022 and said her role within the program is to “focus on integrating Life Design throughout campus.”
“The idea for Life Design was to really build a framework for success at BG,” Ausdenmoore said. “A lot of things make it special. One in particular is we are being really intentional with how we’re setting up students for success when they get to BGSU, such as problem solving and what they want out of life or their career and their college experience. It’s really important, and it’s infused throughout campus.
“It’s not very often you have a campus that speaks the same vocabulary with the same mission,” she added. “We focus a lot on taking action, being curious and being problem solvers. We want students to be able to design their future. How are they being intentional about what they want out of college and what they want out of their future careers.”
Life Design is open to all BGSU students. Some students, Ausdenmoore said, take a course with Life Design as part of their major. Many first-year students are involved.
“We have a team of Life Design coaches who are able to walk along students to support them,” Ausdenmoore said. “Any student can be involved at any time and it’s part of their tuition. One-on-one coaching is included. It’s one of the perks of being a BGSU student in general.”
She said more than 10,000 students have been involved with Life Design since 2020, and thousands more have been exposed to it via workshops, coaching and other programs.”
Students who are still undecided on a major or what career to pursue can participate in a class where they spend their first semester together with a life center coach exploring majors and careers.
“A vast majority have picked a career or a major by the end of that semester,” Ausdenmoore said. “The idea is to do that intentional work and explore and talk to people on campus and people in different industries.”
Life Design welcomes transfer students from other institutions, offering a one-credit class that helps them feel more connected to the BGSU campus.
(BGSU courtesy photo by Craig Bell Photo)
Student athletes also take advantage of the program. Ausdenmoore called it a “partnership with athletics” at BGSU.
“All of our student athletes take the Life Design class together, and one of their Life Design professors leads that class,” she said. “There is also an upper-level class to help them decide on what to do after their athletic careers are over. It’s really focused on life after sports.”
Rowland scheduled to graduate in 2027
Rowland is in her junior year at BGSU and is a liberal studies major specializing in communication and design. She has a 3.6 GPA and is on schedule to graduate in 2027.
Rowland said meeting with a Life Design life coach on her initial visit to campus in 2023 was an eye-opener.
“I was sold after that experience,” she said. “It was only BG for me. Life Design really taught me about what college actually is, like how to be in college and make my experience meaningful. It’s the reason I have my major. It was so helpful to be in that community of other students who didn’t figure it out. I found what major suited me.”
Rowland added that, based on her college experience over the past few years, she wouldn’t change a thing.
“I’ve had so much support within Life Design and I’ve been so involved and gained so many amazing experiences,” she said. “I tailored myself to my goals. I’ve had so much support navigating that, and I’m very satisfied.”
