UMass iCons Program Sparks Creative Thinking to Address Student Anxiety

On October 22, 2024, the UMass iCons Program hosted the annual Idea Slam. This event urges students to think creatively and collaboratively to hypothesize potential solutions to real-world issues, with a particular focus this year on addressing the epidemic of student anxiety. Presentations delivered by thought leaders Dr. Melissa Rotkiewicz, the director of the UMass Amherst Center for Counseling and Psychological Health (CCPH), and Brian Pearson, the founder of Adventure East, prepared participants for the issue at hand: the epidemic of student anxiety.

After a brief but energetic opening reception, students and faculty entered the event space to learn more about the issue from Rotkiewicz and Pearson’s unique perspectives. Dr. Melissa Rotkiewicz presented attendees with statistical evidence proving that anxiety is the highest-ranking cause for student appointments at UMass CCPH. Brian Pearson then advocated for therapeutic nature solutions that promote stress reduction and encourage people to spend time away from screens in favor of the outdoors.

Thanking the guest speakers for their time and commitment to the issue, Mahoney Family Sponsored Executive Director Scott Auerbach explained the goals of and hopeful outcome of the Idea Slam. Auerbach encouraged collaborative, creative thinking noting, “This is the essence of iCons: Diverse teams of students working on today’s big problems.” With an immediate uptick in the room’s energy, Auerbach invited groups to hypothesize potential causes of the student anxiety epidemic.

Student and faculty groups prepared a one-minute pitch presentation on possible resolutions to the introductory causes of anxiety, with each group presenting distinctive and creative ideas. Each one-minute pitch was filmed so guest speakers could review and potentially integrate the unique proposals into their healthcare services, such as developing targeted programs or workshops to address student anxiety. When the final presentation was complete, guest speakers Rotkiewicz and Pearson thanked Auerbach for inviting them into the flourishing educational environment and reminded students to consider their hypothesized solutions when they encounter times of anxiety. The 2024 UMass iCons Idea Slam fostered vigorous collaborative thinking, showing prospective students how the UMass iCons Program enables students to thrive through creative thinking.

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In 2016, Marinna Teixeira graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in Environmental Sciences and a minor in French. Having emigrated from Brazil at a young age, Marinna was the first woman in her family to graduate from university and has achieved profound accomplishments since. After joining the UMass iCons Program as a freshman, she befriended peers who dreamed of professional accomplishments like hers. As a member of the third iCons cohort, the Third Axis, her participation in the undergraduate program fell under the Renewable Energy track where she pursued her interest in climate change mitigation.

Heather Bortolussi '24 and Fay Paicos '24, both recent graduates of the Environmental Science program and the UMass iCons Program at UMass Amherst, discovered that an iCons classroom is not just the beginning of a professional toolkit but a gateway to enriching experiences beyond academia. Their journey began in an iCons 2 classroom, where their teamwork sparked a friendship that extended far beyond those four walls, taking them all the way to Thailand for a study abroad adventure.

We are excited to announce the 2024 recipients of the Crowley-Nowick Award for iCons Student Leadership and Philanthropy: Claudia Figeroa-Pabón ’25 (Biomedical Engineering and Commonwealth Honors College) and Shiven Patel ’26 (Computer Science and Commonwealth Honors College).

UMass iCons Program Sparks Creative Thinking to Address Student Anxiety

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