Story by Riley Palshaw
Photos by Logan Jackson
As humans, we’re told that happiness is something worth pursuing. But what does happiness actually mean? Sam von Gillern explores this question with his Honors College students in Lessons from Positive Psychology on Happiness and Success, an Honors Seminar course centered on research in the field of positive psychology.
For von Gillern, who created and teaches the course, the idea began at Iowa State University when he encountered The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor. The book’s insights laid the foundation for his class, and after arriving at Mizzou in fall 2019, he officially introduced the course to the Honors curriculum the following year.
“I truly believe that happiness is one of the great unifiers or the pursuit of happiness is one of the great unifiers of humans,” says von Gillern, an assistant professor in the College of Education and Human Development. “But we often don’t take time to actively reflect on it and do things about it.”
The course provides students an opportunity to explore key ideas in positive psychology while also connecting them to their own lived experiences related to personal happiness. While most of the class is grounded in Achor’s book, students also conduct their own research projects investigating an issue related to happiness and exploring how it connects to broader well-being.
For von Gillern, one of the most meaningful aspects of the seminar is the space it provides students to slow down and reflect.
“It’s nice just to take a moment, an hour each week, to focus on their own personal well-being,” says von Gillern. “Being able to nurture that environment and support their experience is really interesting and rewarding for me.”
Two of the biggest lessons students take away from the course are grounded in the findings of positive psychology. First, strong social relationships are the single most important predictor of happiness, which is something that requires intention, time and care to sustain. Second, as Achor’s The Happiness Advantage argues, happiness itself fuels productivity and success. When humans are happier, they are more creative, perform better and ultimately thrive in our work and lives.
“I find myself being more intentional now — realizing that happiness looks different in every situation, but if you look for it, you’ll find it,” says former student Jenaya Monroe, a senior computer science major. “One of the biggest lessons I took away was that not every day is good, but there’s something good in every day.”
Each student interprets these ideas in their own way, making the seminar dynamic and personal. “There’s a lot of different ways of looking at the world and different things that bring people happiness,” he explains. “All the courses they take in college are important for them as learners and future professionals, but happiness is something we want every single day. That’s what makes this course different.”
It’s this everyday relevance that makes the seminar resonate so deeply with Honors students, encouraging them to step back from the busyness of their routines and think about what truly matters.
“Keeping a gratitude journal for the class taught me how to train my brain to focus on happiness,” says former student Abbye McClaskey, who recently graduated with a biochemistry degree. “I don’t keep a strict journal anymore, but I notice myself appreciating what I have much more often. As a senior, it helped me recognize how much Mizzou has given me, from the beautiful campus to excellent faculty, and to be grateful for those experiences in the moment.”