EDITOR'S NOTE: This profile was originally published in the Fall 2023 edition of Surgere Magazine. To see the full publication, click here.

As part of our strategic plan’s focus on student wellbeing, the Westridge Human Development (HD) program moved under the purview of the school’s director of counseling & student support, Dr. Lisa LaFave—a shift designed to strengthen the connection between HD and social emotional learning happening in other areas of the school. When looking for a new HD program coordinator in summer of 2022, LaFave wanted someone who could take the program to the next level. A year into her tenure, Emily Mukai is living up to that charge. With a background spanning nutrition, health and wellness coaching and consulting, and educational program design—and even a year coaching lacrosse at Westridge—Emily brings important insights into curriculum topics, resiliency, and the changing needs of our students.

We sat down with Emily to talk about the importance of Human Development at Westridge.

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What do you mean when you talk about Human Development?

In simplest terms, Human Development is all the stuff that you wished you’d learned in school but never actually did. It’s a broad constellation of topics that can include emotional awareness, learning skills, sexual health and development, drug education, finances, self-defense, consent, coping with unpleasant feelings, and more. Basically, we’re talking about all the skills you need in order to succeed in college and the world beyond.

Why do you think Human Development is relevant to students today?

Kids today are facing a lot of serious mental health challenges, and I want to make sure they have the skills and understanding to navigate those challenges with resilience. As a society, we place a lot of emphasis on grades and getting into a good college, but our Human Development programs focus on the skills students need to face developmental challenges while they are with us and equipping them with skills they will need in college and beyond.

Can you explain what you mean by 'resilience'?

To me, resilience is the ability to continue working toward a goal even when you’re not sure you’re going to achieve that goal.

We all know that we can’t control the outcomes of situations, but we can control our inputs. Teaching resilience helps students focus on what they can control and not internalize end results. Resilience encourages them to look at what they can impact, which gives them a greater sense of agency and autonomy.

Students are going to get a great education at Westridge—there’s no doubt about that. What we want isn’t just academically accomplished students, but also young people who are able to handle life’s challenges with resilience, creativity, and resourcefulness and while remaining as close to a whole human as they can.

What does Human Development look like at Westridge?

First, I want to point out how incredibly unique it is that Westridge carves out time in every schedule rotation for this content. It’s rare to find schools that prioritize these materials, and it’s one of those things that really makes Westridge stand out.

We start our programs in the 4th grade, and things really pick up in the 7th and 8th grades. We draw a lot of concepts from Internal Family Systems, which is a psychology theory that gives us some great language to talk about coping mechanisms and exploring healthy behaviors.

We start by focusing on low-stakes things, like procrastination around homework, and gradually raise the stakes to more serious subjects, like drinking and drug use. No matter what age the students are, we’re always trying to tailor content and discussions to their level of understanding and experience. We’re constantly tweaking what we do to make sure that what we’re teaching is relevant to their lives.

What sort of feedback have you received?

Our students love it. I think they’re really craving a space to check-in emotionally, with themselves and their peers.

Especially since remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, I think parents are increasingly seeing how important it is for their students to have access to these materials and support. There’s very much a team atmosphere with parents, and it feels like we’re all on board and working toward the same ends.