During the pandemic young generations had to deal with a mental health crisis. What we can expect ... [+]
This is part five of a six-part series.
“We are onto a huge mental health crisis … a real one.” Tony Ortiz, Ph.D., founder, principal investigator and scientific director at NRC Research Institute
Tony Ortiz made that statement in October at the fourth annual Leadership in the Age of Personalization Summit, which took place in October at Clemson University’s Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business.
And since then, there’s been expert after expert sounding the alarm.
Just a few days ago, the Washington Post ran a story under this headline: “The crisis of student mental health is much vaster than we realize.” The story quotes Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, who is quoted as saying he heard just that day from the district’s mental health partners that calls about suicidal thoughts had quadrupled. “The need is real, the need is dire,” said Carvalho. “We’re living through historically unprecedented times.”
This article is part five of a six-part series on navigating uncertainty in business, healthcare and higher education. The articles in this series feature a blend of written content and short videos of individuals from across industries.
Part one introduced the secret to navigating uncertainty: seeing change as opportunity, not as a threat. Part two addressed how uncertainty is forcing higher education to evolve, while part three looked at how uncertainty affects the workplace. Part four explored what leaders have to say about ESG, DEI, and how uncertainty affects their approach to marketplace sustainability.
In this article, I’ll explore insights shared by Dr. Ortiz, an expert in the field of mental health, and from a panel of experts on Gen Z – meaning, actual Gen Z’ers: a current grad student, a current undergrad student, and a current high school student. They shared insights in Session 4 of the summit mentioned above.
From Left to Right: Ioanna Beckman, Scott Cole, Brielle Lubin and Glenn Llopis at the Future ... [+]
The theme of the summit was navigating uncertainty. The pandemic introduced an unprecedented level of uncertainty into the daily lives of young people – lives that are typically already full of the uncertainties of growing up and finding your way.
But how can colleges, universities, businesses and other organizations prepare for this future generation of students and employees?
The Truth About Mental Health in Young Adults
Tony Ortiz, Ph.D., is a researcher who has studied mental health issues extensively. He is founder, principal investigator and scientific director at NRC Research Institute. He also experienced a mental health crisis in his lifetime and knows the severity of them first-hand.
He opened the session with a keynote about mental health in young adults, noting that the rate of mental health issues has increased dramatically in recent years, due largely to the unprecedented changes in lifestyle and socialization brought about by the pandemic. He said universities can combat this trend by increasing awareness of mental health topics and by creating spaces where students can decompress and connect with others.
Watch this short video for his own personal story, and his professional concerns about how unprepared we are for the mental health needs of the future generation of students and employees.
The Future of Diversity and Inclusion: Perspectives from Emerging Generations
In the panel discussion that followed, members of this future generation explored the challenges of navigating a disability and the importance of being able and willing to talk about our differences so we can connect with and learn about each other.
Ioanna Beckman is a graduate student studying statistics at the University of Washington. She recently graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor’s of Science in Statistics and a minor in Sociology.
Beckman has a visual impairment and had to navigate her higher education experiences by breaking free of her own fears. She said for her almost every day presents itself with something uncertain. One thing she’s learned is that the more you put yourself in uncomfortable and uncertain situations, that's how you grow. She also said that to make an environment more inclusive for people with disabilities, we should be open to talk about it more.
Brielle Lubin is a youth advocate and junior at Harvard West Lake High School in Los Angeles, where she leads the Gender and Sexuality Awareness Club and the Asian American Cultural Club. She agreed with the idea that we need to talk about issues that make us uncomfortable – otherwise, how are we supposed to connect with people and learn more about them? To be unwilling to talk about hard things means we're denying people an opportunity and a space where they can actually be safe.
Scott Cole is a senior at University of Colorado Boulder, studying operations management and marketing in the Leeds School of Business. He said to be able to be with people who are different or have different opinions is important, because it allows you to see the perspectives of your peers who have different backgrounds and see where they're coming from – which ultimately might even change or influence your own opinion.
Watch this short video for more insights from this panel of experts representing the future generation of our workforce and our leaders.
Your future students and employees are telling you exactly what they need from you. They need to be able to be themselves and they need to not have to hide themselves. But so many of our institutions were formed during a very different time and under much more narrow definitions of what success looked like. How do we adapt these increasingly irrelevant standards that have become entrenched?
I’ll explore that topic in part six of this series, where we’ll discover a way to methodically remove the deeply embedded barriers that make it challenging to create a culture that honors individuality while being welcoming to all.
