“When I was a child, my grandmother gave me a copy of a book called The Golden Gems of Life that explained how to live life to its fullest. So, I have always been familiar with the concept of positive psychology. However, I first learned about the Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program when I read Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman’s book Flourish,” recalls Christine Robinson, a senior advisor and philanthropy consultant for a number of significant nonprofit organizations and foundations.

Celeste Caton (Master of Applied Positive Psychology ‘20) says she decided years ago that she would someday apply for the MAPP program and that it was just a question of when. She remembers the moment she identified positive psychology as a guiding principle for her life and a field she wanted to study formally. As a newly minted college graduate living in Tijuana, Mexico, she was working at a migrant shelter for women and children who had been deported from the United States or who had come to the border to seek refuge in the US.

"Peace is a prerequisite to learning," says Martín Blank, who was awarded the 2018 Christopher Peterson Memorial Fellowship by Penn’s Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program in recognition of outstanding service to others. "If students come to class angry or stressed out, or if they haven't had breakfast or enough sleep, my job isn't to cram in a math lesson.