A visit to campus last year by best-selling author Neil Pasricha (Com’02) has inspired a recent student-led campaign to promote happiness and well-being.

Peer health educators in the Health Promotion Unit in Student Wellness Services and the Queen’s Student Alumni Association (QSAA) have partnered on Project Happy.

It is based on Mr. Pasricha’s book, The Happiness Equation, his self-described attempt to "hack human happiness" with the following formula: Want Nothing + Do Anything = Have Everything.

The Project Happy campaign is centered on Mr. Pasricha’s “7 ways to be happy right now” aimed at helping students with positive mental health strategies. There will be social media contests with prizes for students who share how they are putting Mr. Pasricha's tips into action using the hashtag #queensprojecthappy.

The Health Promotion team attended a talk given by Mr. Pasricha when he was on campus last spring and came up with the idea for a new campaign.

“Staff and students at Health Promotion discussed ways to articulate an easily accessible way to apply Neil’s wisdom into students’ own lives. From there, the ‘Project Happy’ was born,” says Mijal Vonderwalde, the Call Family Intern in Health Promotion, who has developed the program, with the help of the QSAA.

“We became the link to Mr. Pashricha in this project to facilitate creative student-alumni interactions,” says QSAA President Jasmit De Saffel. “He has told me that he is thrilled his alma mater is positively spreading his perception of happiness across Queen’s and inspiring students to be happy 'right now.'”

More information about Project Happy.
Learn more about Neil Pasricha.