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Student Spotlight: Nicole Modolo and Moments of Calmness
By Emilie Kanazawa
Nicole Modolo, a 25-year-old undergraduate at Lakeland University Japan, has spent the past several years building a new life in Tokyo while working toward a career in Japan. Originally from a small town in Veneto, Italy, she now balances her studies and daily life in one of the world's largest cities. This summer she'll be graduating from LUJ with a B.A. degree in Business Administration with a double emphasis in Digital Marketing and Communication, and she is also a perennial Dean's List honoree (GPA of at least 3.5), having earned the achievement 7 times during her time at Lakeland.
While many people measure happiness by their career success or financial achievements, Modolo says the moments she values most are the rare days when she feels calm and at peace with herself. Modolo traces part of her perspective on happiness back to a philosophy teacher she had in high school, whose ideas continue to influence her today. That teacher "told me that happiness doesn’t really exist; it’s like a brief moment and I kind of agree with that.”
During her time abroad, she has expressed feeling periods of depression and currently attends therapy to cope with these feelings, which has also helped her to have a better understanding of her emotions, as well as what happiness means to her. She ultimately describes her version of happiness as a feeling of calmness and mental wellbeing, when her mind is not being clouded by “intrusive thoughts”.
Modolo's perspective reflects a growing shift among young adults who are affiliating happiness with mental peace rather than money or career status. According to the World Happiness Report, Finland ranks as the happiest country in the world with a happiness score of 7.74 out of 10, while factors like social support, mental health, and freedom are strongly connected to life satisfaction. Younger generations have also become more open about discussing mental health struggles and emotional well-being.
Experts say happiness is often misunderstood as a permanent emotional state. Laurie Santos, a psychology professor at Yale University known for her work on happiness and well-being, argues that happiness is more connected to mindfulness, relationships and emotional stability than material success. In her podcast The Happiness Lab. Santos says people often overestimate how much external achievements such as money, status and career success will improve their long-term well-being, while underestimating the importance of daily habits and social connections.
Although Modolo still struggles with uncertainty, she hopes to someday maintain the calmness she experiences during her better days.
“But I don’t know if I’ll reach that,” she said. “Maybe one day.”
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About the Writer: Emilie Kanazawa is an undergraduate at Lakeland University Japan majoring in Data Science. She is passionate about using data and technology to solve real-world problems, hoping to pursue a career in the technology industry after graduation.
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