Students Taking on Effective Post-Graduate Skills (STEPS)

We are collaborating with the Career Development Center at Loyola to develop, implement, and evaluate a course geared toward helping seniors effectively transition out of college and into young adult life. We are adapting an existing Career and Life Planning course by incorporating exercises and activities focused on emotional intelligence skill-building. Specific domains targeted by this intervention include self-perception, self-expression, interpersonal skills, decision making, and stress management. Student outcomes from the course will be compared to those of students taking the traditional Career and Life Planning course without the added emotional intelligence element. Seniors will take an emotional intelligence assessment at the beginning and end of the course, and at follow-ups post-graduation. We will also include other measures to examine effects on students' growth and development, well-being, interpersonal skills, and other social-emotional skills.