Student Team Creates Program to Prevent Substance Misuse, Improve Stress Management at CCNY

A team of ten MPA students spent the spring semester developing an evidence-based proposal to prevent substance misuse and improve stress management among CCNY students.

The team pitched the proposal this week to a panel of judges, among them Colin Powell School Dean Andrew Rich and Psychology Department Chair Robert Melara. The audience included MPA students, faculty members, and community partners.

In a tightly coordinated, 50-minute presentation, the team presented evidence gathered from interviews and surveys with more than 60 CCNY students showing the links between substance misuse, stress, and lack of awareness of existing health services.

The proposed program, called PATH (Providing Access To Help), would train peer navigators to screen students for substance misuse and connect them to resources on campus or in the community. The program would include public events and educational materials about substance misuse and stress management.

The proposal included a budget, organizational chart, one-year implementation plan, and detailed system to monitor outputs and evaluate results.

The client for this project was CCNY Substance Misuse Prevention Coordinator Nishanthi Anthonipillai, who is seeking support from funders and college officials for a campus-wide prevention program. 

Anthonipillai outlined the need and the expectations for the program at the start of the semester. Then she consulted with the students throughout the semester, offering feedback and resources at key junctures.

The team also received guidance from Caroline Bauer, who manages the Service Design Studio at the NYC Office of Economic Opportunity.

Bauer trained the MPA students in Human-Centered Design, a co-creative process that involves consulting directly with those experiencing a problem, imagining a range of possible solutions, and testing those solutions in order to craft an effective and sustainable program.

Students said they learned important lessons about policy design.

“I really enjoyed the intense, hands-on ideation process, and then being able to test it out with the potential beneficiaries,” said Raisa Alam. “It aligned with what we learned over the past two years: give people what they need and not what we think they need."

Lorena Camacho noted the project's tangible impact. “An idea doesn’t have to be bold to be effective, as long as we pay close attention to the key stakeholders' needs,” she said. “We designed a simple, human-centered solution that seeks to make a positive impact on the well-being of CCNY students.”

Ashley Reyes also emphasized the importance of including stakeholders' voices in the discussion and creation of policy.

"People are really willing to help with crafting solutions; you don't have to come up with the answers alone," said Reyes. "You may not have the perfect solution, but you can create one that leaves everyone better off, and you know it will be impactful because the intended users helped shape it.”

The seminar was unique this year because all ten students worked as one team, with subgroups focused on program structure, marketing strategy, and monitoring and evaluation. In past years, students worked in smaller teams, each with its own separate consulting project. 

Also, the project focused on City College rather than off-campus clients.   

"The design of this year's seminar highlights that in order to craft solutions to social problems, we can start right here on campus," said MPA Acting Director Natalia Trujillo. "The project allowed our students to forge a meaningful connection to their college while helping to address an important student health challenge."

Students were graded on the proposal's responsiveness to the client's needs, the persuasiveness of the pitch, and the quality of their team communication. But before being graded, they had to grade themselves - a creative pedagogical touch brought by Professor Brett Whysel, who designed and taught the seminar. 

Whysel guided the students through a series of fast-paced management “sprints”, a team management technique that facilitates rapid project adjustment and product design.

"After four intense prototyping sprints, students presented a comprehensive and creative solution that cost-effectively prevents substance abuse by leveraging peers to help students connect with wellness services," Whysel said in praise of the students' achievement. 

"Students worked cooperatively, rather than competitively, to develop a solution that stakeholders say has an excellent chance at attracting funding and being taken up by the College," he added.

Kevin Mason said the teamwork pushed him and his fellow students to grow professionally. “Working with a ten-person team was a challenge," he said. "It was a simulation that required communicating as a group, managing different professional skill sets, and working with diverse personalities.”

The capstone seminar is a culminating project meant to allow MPA students to synthesize the ideas and skills learned in the classroom and apply them to real-world problems, putting theory into practice and grounding their training in reality.

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