From co-authoring a guide to life to securing a $2.25 million grant for an education initiative, Belle Liang has discovered her true purpose: helping others find theirs.
“Instead of asking, ‘What do you want to do after graduation?’ we should be asking, ‘What do you hope to always be doing, no matter what your job is?’” Liang said. “That question gets to the heart of purpose—and the human skills that are relevant across industry and appreciate over time.”
Over the past decade, Liang’s research has honed in on purpose and belonging, and how to foster environments in schools, universities, and workplaces where people can cultivate both.
“Purpose is defined as living a life that is personally meaningful and intended to contribute to the world beyond,” Liang said. “And it is not unknowable, or such a long shot, like finding your one true love. It is something that can be crafted over time, with support and with intention.”
Liang, a professor of counseling, developmental, and educational psychology in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development (LSEHD), Ascione Family Fellow, and a licenced clinical psychologist, has emerged as a driving force in the field of formative education at Boston College.
Liang’s early research focused on the impact of mentor programs on youth outcomes, examining how mentor-mentee relationships play a vital role in fostering purpose.
“What we saw is that young people who had these positive, engaged mentoring relationships were developing a sense of themselves as contributors in society,” Liang said. “That they could make a difference in the world around them and in ways that were personally meaningful to them.”
Liang challenges the notion that seeking purpose and belonging is only for the privileged, pointing to research that shows students from disadvantaged backgrounds have the potential to be the most powerful initiators and advocates.
“When [underprivileged students] were mentored in the ways that we ought to be mentoring in people, which is a more strength-based way, they had experiences of realization that they were important agents of change in society,” Liang said.
Liang works as a fellow, consulting and collaborating with people across numerous divisions to infuse best practices of purpose and belonging into the ecosystem at BC.
Liang’s work extends beyond traditional classroom instruction. She also collaborates with administrators across three BC divisions—student affairs, academic affairs, and the Office of Missions and Ministry.
One of Liang’s collaborators is Joseph Du Pont, associate vice president for career services and integrated learning, who has worked with her for three years on developing integrated learning initiatives for students.
“In Student Affairs, we’ve always been deeply committed to supporting students in their journey of personal growth and discernment,” Du Pont said. “What Dr. Liang has brought to our work is a framework that helps us refine and more intentionally ground that commitment.”
Specifically, Liang has helped in providing student affairs the tools and needs to discuss its goals for students, according to Du Point.
“Her research has given us a shared language and evidence-based approach to talk about purpose, belonging, and the integration of identity, values, and action,” Du Pont said.
Du Pont pointed not only to Liang’s research success as an indicator of her value but also to the contributions she brings as a colleague.
“As a researcher, she is rigorous and clear-sighted, always grounding her work in both data and humanity,” Du Pont said. “As a colleague, she’s collaborative and generous, genuinely interested in others’ perspectives. And as a team member, she’s deeply mission-aligned—always focused on how her work can serve students and the broader community.”
Burt Howell, executive director of Intersections in the Division of Mission and Ministry, echoed this sentiment and expressed his appreciation for Liang’s work in bridging faith and science.
“She’s a psychologist, and her work is really grounded in science, but it overlaps with this tradition of over 450 years of Jesuit education,” Howell said. “And [she sees] where the two—the tradition and the research—can speak to each other.”
Vice Provost Akua Sarr has worked with Liang over the past year to improve students’ experiences both in and outside of the classroom. Sarr highlighted how Liang’s research on purpose and belonging has been crucial in advancing their efforts in formative education.
“She has provided a valuable framework for reimagining academic and extracurricular experiences across all four undergraduate years,” Sarr wrote in a statement to The Heights. “Thanks to her insights, we are now more intentional in shaping and designing these experiences, helping students craft a four-year path with greater purpose and focus on formation.”
Beyond her work with students, Liang also works across divisions to promote meaningful reflection among staff.
“Rather than simply present her research, Dr. Liang created a space for staff to reflect on their own sense of purpose and how it connects to their daily work,” Du Pont said. “Her care for others was evident—not just in what she said, but in how she listened. She invited vulnerability, and the room responded with deep engagement.”
Howell described how her work has impacted his understanding of discerning one’s purpose and finding meaning at all stages of life.
“It’s not just purpose and belonging for students who are figuring out their path, but also for professionals and adults, teachers and for everyone—it’s a continuous path of finding your purpose and belonging,” Howell said.
Liang’s most recent research and book focus on the power of a mindset and the process of determining which mindset creates the best chance for fulfillment and success. The first is the performance mindset, which she explained is extremely prevalent among college students.
“That performance mindset[is] a singular pursuit of success—this idea that the world is a zero-sum game with lots of losers and very few winners,” Liang said. “And the goal in this game is to win, and you do that by beating out the competition, whether they’re your rivals or your best friends.”
Liang said this individualistic mindset costs a great deal of mental energy and often creates a constant state of comparison.
“It’s a sort of scarcity mindset,” Liang said. “It’s driven by this fear that if you aren’t better than everybody else, you’re not going to get what you want. But what the research in my lab—and other labs as well shows—is that that mindset does not necessarily lead to this intended consequence of success. It works until it doesn’t.”
The other equally troubling side of the coin, according to Liang, is what she calls the passion mindset.
“The passion mindset is this belief that we need to minimize any kind of negative affect and maximize positive affect, and then we’re going to be happy—that’s what’s going to make us happy,” Liang said.
Simply trying to elevate optimism, however, often does not lead to fulfillment, Liang said.
“Unfortunately, the research shows that that doesn’t quite work either, that when you just focus exclusively on happiness, positive affect, and minimizing negative affect, that oftentimes you’re not doing some of the things that are very personally meaningful,” Liang said.
So how should one approach the trials and tribulations of seeking fulfillment? After years of investigating and researching, Liang has a name for the optimal mindset: the purpose mindset.
Individuals who have this purpose mindset have lower levels of stress and higher levels of resilience and connection with others, according to Liang.
“These folks [are] not about comparison, but they were about more inward, intrinsic motivation to do things that are personally meaningful in a way that does contribute to the world around yourself,” Liang said.
According to Du Pont, Liang’s work has cultivated a culture of purpose and belonging at BC.
He emphasized that her research offers a timely, powerful alternative to the performance-oriented definitions of success that dominate today’s higher education landscape.
Students today are navigating a world full of uncertainty and pressure to ‘figure it all out,’” Du Pont said. “Her research offers a compassionate and evidence-based alternative—instead of chasing external success, students can focus on aligning their values, strengths, and relationships to create a meaningful life.”
Although her research centers around young people, Liang’s message rings true for all ages. Du Pont said Liang helped him understand that purpose involves continuously evolving.
“Belle’s work has deepened my appreciation for the idea that purpose isn’t a destination—it’s a practice,” Du Pont said. “She’s helped me reflect more deliberately on how the small choices we make each day—how we show up for students, colleagues, and ourselves—can either support or hinder that sense of purpose.”
Liang’s purpose mindset also resonates with Howell, especially in a culture that is becoming increasingly focused on individualism.
“People are hungry for meaning and purpose in their lives, and the way our culture now has become so individualistic, it’s hard to find purpose and meaning by yourself,” Howell said. “And so she is good at helping people through questions and mindsets.”
As Liang’s work at BC continues to expand and evolve, she expressed her gratitude for the opportunities she has received to conduct her research.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to do work in formative ed and purpose and belonging [research],” Liang said. “[It’s] because of this appointment by my dean, by the provost, [and] by the resources and belief that people have placed in me, including the Ascione family.”
In a rapidly changing world, Liang’s message is clear: a life of purpose is not a destination—it is a practice.
Leave a Reply