The Mind & Life Institute recently honored Blake Colaianne with the 2023 Samuel B. Hanser Visionary Grant for his project, ‘Skillful means and compassion in high school: Exploring a relational approach to compassion training with adolescents.’

“I am incredibly grateful for not only the support of the Mind & Life Institute, but also for the vision of Samuel B. Hanser,” said Blake Colaianne, assistant research professor at Penn State’s Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, “Samuel viewed the world through a lens of interconnection, and my hope is to help young people view the world through this lens, too.”

The award will enable Colaianne to train high school students at one school using a contemplative-based training meant to cultivate relational skills of interconnection, belonging and compassion.

We want to center and empower the voices of youth to make mindfulness training more aligned with what really matters to adolescents.

– Blake Colaianne, assistant research professor at the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center

Colaianne wants to help young people as they face increased relational challenges, explaining that they are “comparing themselves to others, navigating peer pressures, and struggling with feelings of exclusion.”

After taking the training, the students will then co-design and revise aspects of the training to be more relevant, accessible, and meaningful for their high school context and age group.

“We want to center and empower the voices of youth to make mindfulness training more aligned with what really matters to adolescents,” Colaianne explained.

For more information, visit the Mind and Life Institute website.