¡Hola!
My name is Yanice Melendez-Rivera and I was born on the small Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. I grew up a Navy kid calling Virginia, Sicily, Hawaii, and Japan all home at one point or another. My Puerto Rican culture is very important to me, however, the way I grew up exposed to different cultures everywhere I lived really helped shape who I am today. It taught me that we can all relate in some way whether it be our taste in food, interest in music, or similar styles--there's always something to bring us together. There is so much beauty in every culture.
INNOVATE Monarchs Experience
I felt challenged from the start. My team of four included vastly different individuals with varying thoughts on what needs the University could help for its BIPOC and Latinx students. We highlighted issues such as communication, challenging stereotypes, the financials of college, and mental health. Together, we circled in on innovating the mental health resources on campus to better serve students and faculty.
PROTOTYPE: The Hearts Together Campaign
The Hearts Together Campaign is a two prong approach to innovating mental health resources already offered on campus, and opening up a dialogue around mental health. The stigma can affect many. During our research in the empathy stage of Innovate, Team Kaufman found a large disconnect between students and their use of campus resources. Considering the importance of accessibility to information and meaningful communication during life's deepest struggles, Team Kaufman crafted a campaign to address both aspects.
The first part of our campaign called See Something, Say Something focuses on providing mental health training and spreading awareness about eating disorders, interpersonal relationships, and depression. This was important for communicating exactly what we had researched from our sample demographic of students.
Additionally, Stronger Together aims to consolidate ODU's existing resources for a collective approach to tackling mental health. This includes an online E-portal and collaboration over professions and departments.
For more information check out our website linked directly below.
Mindsets of a Human-Centered Designer
I practiced the Innovation is for Everyone mindset when my team and I created a laundry list of ideas to combat the issues we researched during the empathy stage. It was a process that we all contributed to no matter the feasibility of an idea. This taught me to build off of one another to be the most innovative.
I practiced the Know Your Why mindset when I shared with my team my personal experiences in the realm of mental health. Family, friends, famous figures, and more who have battled with eating disorders, interpersonal relationships, and depression are the reasons that brought us together to highlight the issue at hand. This taught me that passion is important and without a passion for life it's hard to be our best selves.
I practiced the Show & Tell mindset when I helped maintain communication as a team during our process. Times are different and the ability to balance the way the world is now and our projects can be challenging for some. Just as we created in our campaign See Something, Say Something, the importance of action is essential. I learned during this process just how much communication and action go hand in hand to make ideas successful.
I practiced the Radical Collaboration mindset when I worked with not only my team, but with other professors and groups during our design process. This taught me that there are always going to be different viewpoints. However, a common goal is what allows us to collaborate and build partnerships across disciplines.
I practiced the Empathetic & Human-Centered mindset every time I had an honest conversation with individuals, and ultimately myself, about mental health during our process. This taught me that the trials and tribulations experienced by one are often experienced by others in silence. We all deserve a break and practicing empathy is the easiest and most efficient way to do it.
I practiced the Embrace Ambiguity mindset when I brought the conversation to a group of seasoned preschool teachers. It was an interesting perspective to see how our first educators viewed the issues at hand during our process. This taught me that the problem is much deeper than the surface, and that any attempts at innovation would need to address a multitude of issues.
I practiced the Iterate, Iterate, Iterate mindset throughout the entire INNOVATE process. Whether it was my own personal confusion or ideas that did not make it to the prototype, my team and I reached new heights and roadblocks during our process. This taught me that everything is a process that we must trust, and to always keep track of where I have my social security card. :)
Applying Innovate Experiences in the Future
My passion is helping people. I chose my profession working with communication speech disorders based off of the notion that communication is essential to life.
During INNOVATE Monarchs, my skills were put to the test. While I like to think that my communication skills are great, it isn't always the case for me. I began noticing a loss of communication at the beginning of the pandemic. Social distancing to an introverted extrovert sounded perfect, especially thinking it would last a couple weeks. But did I ever imagine what it would be like participating in a program like Innovate conducted completely online? Never.
At first, I was both completely overwhelmed but appreciative of the freedom we had to decide what we wanted to Innovate. My group had many ideas and working together to focus on one presented its own challenges. When we finally narrowed in on something, the pieces simply fell together. The more conversations on Zoom every Tuesday, the more understanding I had of everyone's wants and needs. Without these conversations, one may only understand what they experience. I was able to grow a greater comprehension of the challenges faced by BIPOC and other Latinx individuals.
The most important take away I got from the program is that communication is key. In every part of our experience we were required to listen and share. Awareness of the issue is the first step. Continuous communication is what allows us to move ideas forward in the hopes to create a better future for everyone.
Credits:
Created with images by pierre9x6 - "apartments doors colors" • doctor-a - "chinatown urban business" • pierre9x6 - "apartments doors colors"