Partnering with the Community

As an ICU nurse during the COVID pandemic, Nurse Claudia experienced countless crises. But as she began her graduate studies to pursue a Doctorate of Nursing Practice at the University of Illinois at Chicago, one particular crisis remained on her mind. 

“I felt this strong need for mental health literacy,” she recalled. “When I was in high school, mental health was a big taboo. After the pandemic, I felt like it was especially useful to have a program in high schools, where students are at the cusp of entering the real world.” 

Nurse Claudia’s mentor, Dr. Susan Walsh, knew just the place for Claudia to pilot her vision for a mental health mentorship program: Josephinum Academy. Years earlier, Dr. Walsh, who is a long-time friend of The Jo, began facilitating opportunities for nursing students to lead classes and sessions for Josephinum students. 

Claudia jumped at the opportunity and launched a mental health course for a selected group of juniors and seniors. For six weeks, this group of student leaders learned about anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and more—then designed a project to share these lessons with their fellow students. 

“It’s a peer leadership program, so students can take charge of what they want to learn,” Claudia explained. “By instilling confidence in the knowledge, we were instilling the self-efficacy students need to continue learning and speak up more.” 

The peer leaders hosted a poster session where they taught key mental health concepts to the freshman class. The entire presentation was developed and designed by the students—and it was a huge hit. 

“We had such a positive response—so my hope is that the program continues at Josephinum. I also hope the experience will propel students toward their unique goals.”