Mia Sundstrom is partnering with the Daniels Student Success Center to create a new space for connection, resilience and belonging
Mia Sundstrom was a standout gymnast at the University of Denver.
For Mia Sundstrom, two things have long seemed part of her destiny: the idea of play and the University of Denver.
DU was in her DNA: Her father and her grandfather attended the University. Growing up in Boulder, she spent many weekends watching hockey games and gymnastics meets, absorbing the rhythm of a place that would eventually become central to her life.
When she was a freshman in high school, Sundstrom made a decision many athletes don’t make until their senior year: She committed to DU’s gymnastics program on a full scholarship. “I couldn’t wait to get here,” Sundstrom said.
So, she didn’t: She graduated high school a year early and began her college career.
Over the next several years, Sundstrom helped lead one of the most successful stretches in the program’s history, competing in the all-around during a season that ended with a trip to the NCAA Championship Finals. She was a three-year team captain, majored in business analytics, and led the University’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee. After earning her bachelor’s degree, Sundstrom completed a master’s in public policy at DU and joined the gymnastics program’s coaching staff.
But if gymnastics shaped Sundstrom’s college years, another well-engrained idea has come to define her work today: play.
“As a society, we promote the ideology of work; we celebrate that,” she said. “But that suppresses our natural desire to play.”
That can mean different things to different people. It could be games, puzzles, sports, art, music or writing. Regardless of the outlet, research shows that “play is one of the healthiest things we can do cognitively, socially, emotionally and physically,” Sundstrom said. “It’s a physiologically altered state of being, where it feels really good while you’re in it, and the benefits last beyond the time you’re playing.
“If we know that, and then we give ourselves permission to prioritize it, we’ll actually be faster getting the outcomes that we’re looking for,” she said, “and we’ll also enjoy it more in the process.”
Sundstrom is now the CEO of the National Institute for Play, a nonprofit founded by her grandfather, Dr. Stuart Brown, that researches the science of play and advocates for its role in human development, health, learning, and creativity across the lifespan.
“Our number one job as a nonprofit is to educate and challenge these misperceptions: ‘Play is frivolous. It’s a waste of time. It’s for children,’” Sundstrom explained. “Most of what we do is simply to give people the permission to play.”
Play on Campus
At her alma mater, Sundstrom is now bringing her two passions together, turning her mission to promote play into something tangible on campus. She’s collaborating with the Daniels College of Business Student Success Center (SSC) to create a new play-focused space, set to officially open in the Daniels building later this spring. The space is designed to help students connect, recharge and rethink the relationship between learning and play.
The Daniels play center project began when Sundstrom led a play-focused workshop through the University’s Leadership Circle program. Some Daniels staff in attendance saw an opportunity to add to the holistic support they provide their students. Sundstrom’s principles perfectly complemented some of the SSC’s other wellness initiatives.
“We see the Daniels play space as an extension of our commitment to the whole student,” said Katie Runkel, executive director of the Daniels Student Success Center. “When students have opportunities to build connection, resilience and belonging, it contributes to a healthier learning environment and a more holistic student experience.”
The team applied for a 4D Experience Infusion Grant, part of DU’s initiative to develop students intellectually, professionally, physically and in character. After winning the $1,000 grant, they got to work.
The space Sundstrom and the SSC created includes a dedicated lounge-style space and rotating “pop-up” stations that bring playful activities into high-traffic areas. Some elements are simple and quiet, like the puzzles, coloring projects, fidget tools and building toys found in Suite 280 of the Daniels Building. Others are more interactive, including the arcade-style games and collaborative craft stations found in the student lounge (Room 302).
The goal is not just to entertain students, but to invite them into different types of play —creative, imaginative, competitive and reflective, Sundstrom said. In addition to the physical space, Sundstrom will lead a series of workshops explaining the science behind play and how it connects to leadership, creativity and well-being.
“It’s about pairing the space with the ‘why,’” said Sundstrom, who sees the Daniels play space as a potential model for other parts of DU, and for universities more broadly.
Play as Practice
Mia Sundstrom
For Sundstrom, the Daniels initiative reflects something she learned through gymnastics.
Elite athletics can easily become distracted by pressure and accolades, rather than simply love of the game. The athletes who thrive longest, she said, often retain a sense of play. “That intrinsic love for what you’re doing, that’s what keeps you going,” she said.
The same principle applies in classrooms and workplaces, which can be fertile ground for stress and burnout. But when people approach challenges playfully, they are more willing to experiment, fail, adapt and try again. Learning to do so can help Daniels students get ready for the workplace, Sundstrom said.
“Students are building some of these core competencies that employers are looking for. They can meet the moment of a complex world and even have fun and connect with others, while also tinkering and experimenting,” she said. “Play is practice for life.”