🟠 The Challenge: Strong Campus Culture, but Heavy Topics with Hollow Delivery

With a student population that includes a large number of commuters, international students, and first-generation college attendees, NSULA has built a culture that feels more like home than a traditional campus.

“It’s an open-door policy. A lot of the times, when they come to our offices, they can come sit and chat; we can figure some things out. We will cry together, hug together, laugh together, and have some hard conversations together.”
— Dr. Yonna Pasch

But even with that cultural support, students still weren’t getting the tools they needed to manage mental health challenges on their own. NSULA’s internal data revealed something concerning: rates of suicide attempts were higher than those at similar institutions, and students couldn’t always quickly access the support they needed.

“I did want to get into the counseling center, and from the moment you get on campus, it’s like, ‘Well, it takes forever to get in.’ You can never get in. When I got into my position on SGA…I said, ‘What can we do to get these students here now?’ It was a little difficult to get that support as a student myself.”
— Madysen Morgan

The school had tried to fill the gap with education—but most of it fell flat in a death-by-PowerPoint style.

“[Previous mental health talks] ended up being really sad and heavy, and students aren’t engaged when the energy is sucked out of the room for the whole time and we don’t know when we’re going to be able to see out of that.”
— Madysen Morgan

What the campus needed wasn’t more content. It was more connection. It was a conversation about suicide prevention that didn’t just focus on the bad, but instead taught students how to build themselves up and be their own best advocates for strong mental health.

🟢 The Solution: Real Talk That Stuck with Students

When NSULA brought Jessi in to speak, they were hoping for something more impactful than the usual wellness lecture. What they got was a training that students immediately recognized as different.

“I remember buzzing after that whole session. I have it written down somewhere—it was literally something that Jessi said [during her presentation], and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m obsessed. This is perfect. Let’s bring her back for every single thing ever because I’m obsessed with her.’

People behind me were reacting and paying attention the entire time. Everything you said made sense. You were very interactive with us; we don’t like just sitting and listening to someone talk for an hour. It was fun to watch people laugh and see students that you normally don’t see get up and volunteer to do things.”
— Madysen Morgan

Students didn’t just stay engaged—they walked out asking for more.

“She just resonates with a lot of our students. What she’s saying is very relevant to them, and that’s what they want: they want real talk. When students walk out and they’re like, ‘Oh my god, we need her back,’ that speaks volumes. For them to leave and say this was not a waste of time…it’s quite remarkable.”
— Dr. Yonna Pasch

By balancing clinical accuracy with real-world delivery, Jessi made the subject approachable—and gave students tools they could immediately apply in their lives and conversations.

🔵 The Impact: Suicide Prevention and Active Listening Infiltrated the Campus

NSULA doesn’t just host training and then hope for the best; they take action on what they learn. One of the changes the campus has made in recent years is adding suicide hotline stickers to the back of every student ID.

“If we didn’t have these talks, [SGA] wouldn’t think that would be an initiative to implement campus-wide.”
— Dr. Yonna Pasch

The impact also showed up in how students started talking to each other, especially in the wake of a tumultuous and polarizing political election.

“In my everyday conversations, I was having a lot of people using the tools that Jessi gave them. I noticed kind of a demeanor switch. Jessi came in at a perfect time when demeanor was weird, and then after it was like I could see the light again with people being nice and a little more respectful of everything happening.”
— Madysen Morgan

This wasn’t just about checking a box. It was about changing the culture.

🟣 What This Means for Other Organizations

In today’s climate, mental health often ends up on the chopping block when budgets get tight. But NSULA made the intentional decision to keep it on the table—because they understood the cost of doing nothing.

“You need to invest in the whole student, not just the academic side. They don’t know what they don’t know. At this point, they’re still developing, so if the students say [suicide prevention] is not a priority, I will still say it’s a priority because they don’t know what they don’t know. It’s a way that we’re doing our part as an institution. We’re doing them a disservice if we’re not providing a little snippet of this education; whenever they go into the real world, they’re at least a little more equipped.”
— Dr. Yonna Pasch

If your organization serves people navigating identity, pressure, transition, or uncertainty—whether that’s students or employees—they need tools that actually meet them where they are, even if they don’t know they need them yet.

✅ The Final Word

“I know multiple people that have committed suicide. It sucks, and it’s awful; it’s real, and it’s something that’s happening every day. It’s not something you can just ignore. If you don’t give students the avenue to understand or learn how to help someone that is feeling this way, are you really helping out your students all the ways you can?”
— Madysen Morgan