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Contact UsCHHS Spotlight: How to Design Your Life with Stanford’s Shanice Webb
Stanford Design Studio's Shanice Webb leads "Designing Your Life" Sept. 23 as part of CHHS Week 2025.
Feel stuck, overwhelmed, or just unclear about what to do next?
As part of CHHS Week 2025, Stanford Design Studio’s Shanice Webb will lead an interactive workshop, helping attendees shape their futures using the acclaimed Designing Your Life framework.
This lauded approach to planning and strategic decision-making is at the center of the Gina and Frank Day Health Institute’s successful Health Scholars programs, the tenets of which can be transposed to just about any situation.
CHHS spoke with Shanice about her journey, what participants can expect, and how design thinking can help build a bright future – especially for those in health and human service fields.
CHHS and Day Health Institute members are invited to this interactive workshop. Image from 2025 Navigate Your Health Career, credit: Alyson McClaran
Q: What is “Designing Your Life,” and how does it help build a bright future?
Designing Your Life is about building your way forward, especially in uncertain times. It’s a framework rooted in design thinking, which starts with empathy and curiosity.
Instead of waiting for the perfect plan, you take small steps, prototype ideas, and reflect on what works. It’s playful, hopeful, and deeply human. When you design your own life, you also impact your community – and that’s how we build brighter futures together.
Q: What can attendees expect from your workshop?
This session is all about introspection and possibility. You’ll reflect on who you are, what you want, and explore creative ways to get there, even if the path isn’t clear yet.
To do this we’ll use tools to help you think with your hands, not just your head; it’s not a lecture – it’s an experience designed to spark hope and action in your own life.
Q: How does this apply to people in healthcare and service professions?
Design thinking is a powerful tool for anyone working in care-based fields. It helps you pause, listen deeply, and put the human first – whether that’s a patient, client, or community member.
In my own work, I’ve used design to address food deserts in New Orleans, creating community gardens and cooking classes based on real needs, not assumptions. That’s the heart of human-centered design – and it’s essential for building healthier, more equitable futures.
Join Nurse Rowdy in celebrating the Design Your Life approach to Roadrunner excellence. Photo from 2025 Navigate Your Health Career by Alyson McClaran
Q: What if someone doesn’t know anything about design thinking?
Perfect! You don’t need any prior experience. In fact, it’s even better when people come in fresh with open minds and hearts. We’ll explore mindsets like curiosity, radical collaboration, and reframing constraints as opportunities.
You’ll leave with tools you can use immediately – whether you’re planning your career, mentoring students, or navigating life transitions.
Q: What’s the long-term impact of this kind of work?
When design thinking becomes part of how we educate and support students – especially in health and human sciences – it transforms how we prepare for the future. My hope is that it becomes part of general education and career development, so every student learns to build not just a resume, but a life that nourishes them.
Q: Any final thoughts for someone considering attending?
If you’re feeling stuck, uncertain, or just curious about what’s next – this workshop is for you. You’ll laugh, reflect, build, and leave with a renewed sense of possibility. Come ready to play, explore, and design a future that’s not only bright, but uniquely yours.
Join Shanice and your fellow CHHS colleagues Sept 23 in St. Cajetan’s Event Center
Space is limited – RSVP here to secure your seat!