“Coaching or mentoring has always been a part of my background in some respect,” shares Josh Howard (Master of Applied Positive Psychology ’24). In college, he served as manager for LSU men’s basketball team. In his twenties, he worked as a youth pastor. Today, Josh is chief of staff at the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition (BRYC) and an adjunct professor at his alma mater.

Bryan Faller (Master of Philosophy in Liberal Arts ’24) works at the intersection of art and finance. “I’m a fiduciary, and my formal training is as an art historian. I’m in a unique space because I’m able to speak to both the money aspect of art and the art historical aspect of art,” he explains. His responsibilities include managing money for individuals, families, and organizations, and helping those entities build and curate art collections. He also works as an art dealer, teaches the business of art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, and conducts research.

Lara Merriken (Master of Applied Positive Psychology ’23) always thought of herself as a positive person. Believing in hers and others’ strengths created a throughline in her careers—from working as a social worker with at-risk youth, to founding LÄRABAR, to serving as an adviser after the company’s acquisition by a Fortune 500 corporation. “Human flourishing is what I’ve always been about,” she says. Although Lara studied psychology as an undergraduate, she first heard of positive psychology at her son’s school, where she is a board member.

“When I was at Penn, I would never have thought that I would wind up in a Master of Divinity degree program,” begins Ethan McLear, a former Penn Post-Baccalaureate Studies program student. He enrolled in the Post-Bacc shortly after finishing his undergraduate degree, looking for clarity about his future—both in terms of a career and a discipline for graduate studies. Two semesters of advanced coursework and the network he built at Penn helped guide Ethan on his journey to a master’s program at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Before she discovered positive psychology and Penn’s Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program, Dr. Marjorie Aunos (MAPP ’25) was at a difficult point in her life. For nearly a decade, the psychologist and researcher had been managing living with an acquired disability alongside raising her son and sustaining her career. The convergence of challenges left her burnt out and depressed.

After entering the workforce with an engineering firm, Margaret had the opportunity to study part time with Penn’s Applied Geosciences Program. Finishing her master’s degree this May, Margaret’s next goal is passing Pennsylvania’s Professional Geologist exam.

Read Margaret's story >