Actress Eliza Dushku and her husband, real-estate CEO Peter Palandjian, are expecting baby No. 1 this summer

Bring It On! Pregnant Eliza Dushku's First Child with Husband Peter Palandjian Will Be a Boy

Eliza Dushku revealed last month that she and husband Peter Palandjian are expecting their first child together, and now PEOPLE can exclusively confirm that their baby, due this summer, will be a boy.

The Mapplethorpe producer, 38, has been taking classes on holistic psychology at Lesley University in her native Boston, and says her studies have “100 percent” influenced what kind of mom she’ll be to her son.

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“He’s gonna be a hippie baby!” Dushku jokes to PEOPLE.

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Image zoom Peter Palandjian and Eliza Dushku in N.Y.C. on Feb. 14 Dominik Bindl/Getty

The actress’s classes have focused on the mind-body connection and humans’ connection to nature, and have also made Dushku think critically about where humanity stands today.

“These are some tough times, but I remain optimistic especially as I’m preparing to bring a new life into this world,” she says. “People ask me, ‘Have you thought about how terrifying the world is right now?’ ”

“I’ve been like, ‘Yeah, but also it’s part of why I’m studying wellness and healing and connections,’ ” continues the Bring It On star. “I can see how much potential there is. He’s going to be a holistic baby for sure!”

Dushku moved back to Boston after nearly two decades of living in Los Angeles and has spent the recent years “reconnecting with my family and being an aunt and a sister and a daughter and a friend,” she tells PEOPLE.

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“I feel like there’s so much happening,” the Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum explains of the city where she and real-estate CEO Palandjian, 55, got married in August.

She continues, “I lived in L.A. for 18 years; I loved it and I’m appreciative for the time that I had there, but I’m really excited to explore what’s next.”

As for what exactly Dushku is planning beyond her college studies and the widening release of her Robert Mapplethorpe biographical drama, “It’s kind of a question mark,” she admits.