Individualized Attention: Supporting Students in Crisis
By Lauren John, Staff Writer Menlo College provides services for students facing mental health challenges or family problems, including the campus Mental Health Clinic, directed by Dr. Jake Kelman, and an Early Alert System for quickly identifying students in crisis. The College also recently partnered with Ellipsis Health to deploy an app that uses AI and vocal biomarker technology to analyze speech and measure depression and anxiety, providing students with the opportunity to monitor their own well-being. Menlo students worked with Ellipsis Health to customize the app for our community. Since the pandemic, more students have faced deepening problems. Parents have lost their jobs or are frontline workers at risk of contracting Covid-19. Relatives have been hospitalized and younger siblings, no longer in classrooms, have needed supervision. With college classes online, some of Menlo’s students have needed increased technical support. In the last year, administrators and faculty have responded to the crisis by listening carefully for new concerns and tailoring solutions for individual students. 13 SUMMER 2021
