Part 1: Introduction
Watch the video, pause at critical points to complete each step, and then resume playback to proceed with the next step.
INSTRUCTIONS for I3 activity*
*Interviews, Introductions, Indorsements
**Materials: (1) pen/pencil and notepad to take notes. (2) Phone Apps (i.e., timer, audio notes).
Step 2: Find a partner (or work alone).
You can do this activity alone or in pairs. Find a quiet place where you can focus.
- For a self-interview, consider recording it on your phone so you can listed to your responses.
- For Paired Interviews (10 minutes total = 5 min per interview). One person is the interviewer and the person is the responser. The interviewer has five minutes to ask questions and take notes (then you switch roles).
- Make your notes legible because the interviewer will summarize the key points in the next step. If you are doing this as an individual, answer the questions on your own.
Questions:
- (1) What is your full name? How is it pronounced? What, if any, are common ways your name is mispronounced? Do you ever go by a nickname?
- (2) Where are you coming from?
- (3) Who in your life played a critical role in your journey to CMU? This might be someone who inspired, encouraged, and guided you along the way.
- (4) What values, if any, did that person demonstrate, teach you, or model to you?
- (5) Why are you here?
Timekeeper Instructions:
Timekeeper for pairs (round 1), give 4 minute a warning and then ask to switch roles at 5 minutes. Do the same for round 2 of interviews (warning at minute 4 and time up at minute 5). Use the timer on your phone, (if possible pick a soothing alarm, though).
Part 3. Summarize the key points of your interview (or self-interview).
If you are doing the interview with a partner, summarize the answers you heard from the notes you took.
Next, take a few moments to answer the following questions about the person you interviewed:
- What was confirmed about your partner (or yourself)?
- What did you learn about your partner (or yourself)?
- What do you want to affirm about your partner (or yourself)?
Part 4: Letter to Future-Self
The following invitation is to write a letter to your future self. This letter is for you to read when you graduate from CMU! In the previous parts, you learned about yourself through an interview, people and values that got you here, the affirmations you heard from your own self-reflection and/or interviewer.
Reflect on your story, values, and aspirations that emerged in the interview, introductions, and encouragement (I3) activities.
- (1) Here is a list of questions to get started.
- Page two has a letter template to help you quickly shift your notes into a letter rough draft.
- (2) Once you’ve organized your ideas, use a blank sheet of paper, stickers, drawings, colors etc. to write a letter to your future self to be read on the day you graduate from CMU!
- Write and edit your final version of the letter as you prefer (e.g., on a digital tool, or with paper, pen, drawings, sketches, etc).
- We invite you to decorate, color, add pictures, stickers, etc.
- You can make your letter on your digital device of choice, or analog on paper, or do it online through the futureme.org webservice (it will email your letter at a date you specify).
- (3) If you made a digital or analog letter, store it somewhere so you can find it when you graduate. You might even consider creating a time capsule to go along with your letter.
Part 5: You’ve started your CMU journey.
Please fill out this brief survey here about your experience today and interest in other Personal Futures offerings.
How might you continue to design your life during your time at CMU?
- This quick workshop is a tip of the iceberg experience. If you want to go deeper, two courses, 51.150-51.750 Personal Design Futures run Fall 2025 in mini-1 and mini-2. For more details see here.
- Contact Prof. Peter Scupelli to learn more about upcoming Personal Design Futures courses and workshop offerings.
learning environments lab 