Let's Talk UNLV

0:00:00
Welcome to another segment of the podcast Let's Talk UNIV on KUNV. You with co-host Keith and Renee. Renee, what's going on? How was your weekend?

0:00:15
Another chill weekend. I just watched Netflix.

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What about you?

0:00:20
What are you watching on Netflix?

0:00:22
I'm getting caught up on my have and have nots. I mean, it's eight seasons, eight! I'm like on season five and not only that but it's like episodes like 40 of them.

0:00:32
I know it's funny that you say that because my mom, you know, my mom was with us for like three months during the holiday break and that's all she was like binge watching was Have and Have Nots. And I was like this is like a million episodes.

0:00:44
Exactly.

0:00:45
It's funny to hear you say you're watching Have and Have Nots. I just immediately thought about my mom. She was making me crazy she was like can you turn the TV on in the room and she and I see her in the morning like mom what time you go to bed Keith man there she come Keith man I watch have and have nots until 1 in the morning I'm like miss else you better go to bed sometime it be that way what about you you know speaking of binge watching I started watching the show the dropout oh I haven't heard that one that's the best one about Elizabeth Holmes that started the Theranos company and you know some I'm on the episode 3. I finished up last week, Inventing Anna.

0:01:25
Inventing Anna. I'm going to drop one for you too. Ozark. Ozark is one to not sleep on dude.

0:01:32
Well I haven't been able to get to the new episodes of Ozark. The new part 1 of season 4, so I haven't gotten to it yet.

0:01:38
All of it is good. It's good

0:01:40
Well, hey, I'm excited. We have Trey Curtis Brown with us who's an ambassador and graduate assistant with the you at UNRV Initiative or program so Trey welcome to the show Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and you know what what this what the you at UNRV represents?

0:01:58
Yeah, hi everyone. Thank you for letting me join your podcast today. I'm super excited. So as you said, my name is Trey. I'm a graduate assistant here and the U at UNLV ambassador for a new web-based app that we've started. A little bit about myself, I completed my undergraduate degree here in kinesiology pre-med and now I'm in my master's program for emergency and crisis management and I am a part-time instructor for anatomy and physiology labs and then a graduate assistant as we already mentioned, but thank you.

0:02:32
So thank you, Trey. So talk to us about why did you choose to participate with you at UNLV? What sparked your interest? Was it because your, you know, experience in student leadership when you were an undergrad or now in grad school, particularly what drew you to this web-based application and the work that you do as a GA?

0:02:58
Yeah, definitely.

0:02:58
So, I think it's a combination of everything that I've really done in my undergrad as a CSUN Senator and within just some of the research that I've conducted. But I really do have to shout out Dr. Sharon Jalien, the Assistant Dean for the School of Integrated Health, because she brought me in on her research project five years ago now, and she was focusing in college student depression, which really was the platform that kind of launched all of you at UNLV, and I had an interest as a nervous little freshman, and she brought me into the research world, got me involved, and she helped me get this graduate assistantship, actually. So I think a lot of the work that we've done and everything about, like everything about you at UNLV has kind of just been like a different aspect of myself and Dr. Jalene. It's really kind of been like our little creation and we're just finally happy to start sharing it with the world.

0:03:54
Could you tell us a little bit about sort of the need that this app fulfills and sort of what the benefits are in the app for its users?

0:04:07
The value proposition for the app. Yeah, definitely. So, yeah. So, U at UNLV is a web-based app that focuses on holistic care. So, everything from mental and physical health to academic success to just building a little bit more in your own personal lives. You at UNLV has been broken down into three meta domains, succeed, thrive, and matter. Succeed, you know, focusing on your grades and academics and career success. Thrive, focusing on your mental and physical well-being. And then matter, focusing on your purpose and connections on campus, which is my personal favorite aspect of the app.

0:04:44
So tell me why. You said it's your first, sorry, your favorite part of the app, why?

0:04:49
Yeah, so the matter aspect and that domain, it's really just important to me because that's where I've really learned and found my connection here at the university. You know, I'm an out-of-state student. I came from a small town in Wyoming. So, you know, being able to just really thrive and find those connections, I had to do it the more traditional route, you know, get involved in Greek life, go to student government, be overly vocal in some of my courses. But, you know, with the pandemic and with everything that's kind of gone on in the last couple years, and that's moving to a digital platform, it's just been really beneficial to be able to use this app to find those connections and meet them on your own terms. One of the things that we've really realized is that as a student, it's sometimes hard to speak up, and it's hard to get involved in that initial process. So this app allows you to kind of make those connections and do

0:05:40
everything on your own terms. So kind of using from a reflection point of view, if you had you at UNLV when you started UNLV as a freshman, how would that have transformed your undergraduate experience? What things would have been different? What steps would you have taken that you now would have taken if you had that web-based app when you were a freshman?

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Definitely.

0:06:02
So, you know, I definitely loved my undergrad experience, but I think with this app, it helps kind of catapult you from like step one to step five. It helps you just, you know, get those online connections and start building from like, really like, it's more like you're entering as a sophomore with this app. You have all the resources, you have all of the connections and you have all of the tools and resources that you need to be successful. So while this app does kind of serve as a wayfinder, so it helps redirect you to different resources on campus, it's all in one centralized hub. So it's really kind of one of those beneficial tools that it's like, okay, now I know everything I need to access is in one spot, and where can we go from here? Rather than, oh, I have to talk to a professor who's gonna connect me with this person who's gonna connect me with someone else. It's just a very quick roundabout process.

0:06:54
And then how would you advise or encourage students who might be skeptical or unfamiliar with the app to sign up and start using it, or at least to explore the resources that are embedded within the app?

0:07:12
Definitely. So one of the big things that we always tell our students is that the app is 100% confidential. So you can be as honest as you want to be and know that it's only going to be you who knows the information and the data that's being collected and used. The app is 100% integrative, so the more you use the app, the more it's going to benefit you. So at the beginning, when you're first creating your account, we have you take these three quick self-check quizzes, and they all take about three to five minutes, and they're only 12 multiple-choice questions long. But as you take them, they kind of rank you into this tiered system, and it starts pushing content to where you might need to hone in on some of your skills, or, you know, if you need a little more information on a topic, the app is going to start pushing that information that you're really searching for. And I think that's just one of those beneficial tools, again. You know, it's like, it's difficult, as I was saying, as an incoming student, and especially here at UNLV, because we're such a commuter school, it's difficult to really find that purpose and connection on campus. So really, what I tell the students is use the app to benefit you. There's a difference between, you know, anonymous data and confidential data. So on the back end, all we know is that somebody clicked a button. We don't know who's clicked that button and it's been a really beneficial tool, especially for me, just because I've been able to go through and say, hey, like this is what's happening, this is what's going on, and this is a resource that I need help finding. Now to your knowledge, are there

0:08:38
similar apps at other schools or is this sort of the first of its kind?

0:08:45
Yeah, so we actually partnered with a third-party vendor. They're called UF College. So this program and app has been adopted through all of the California school districts. I know that they have it up in UNR, I believe, and then they've actually started as a partnership back in Colorado State. So it's been implemented in almost 1,500 different universities and colleges. Now, are there any unique features or characteristics that sort of shape how it's rolled out at UNLV or what's available within

0:09:17
the app for UNLV students?

0:09:19
Yeah, definitely. So as you're in the app and as you're viewing everything, there'll be a portion of the app that says UNLV resources, and those are going to be the ones that directly relate to our university and they're going to give you all of the virtual and physical resources that you can go to and find on campus, as well as a student, kind of chat bars. So students can log in and have an open dialogue and ask questions, kind of like a Reddit. So they're able to go through, post a question, and then students or faculty or whoever's using the app are able to go through and comment on those just to get more of that in-person connection and kind of like meaning, if that makes sense.

0:09:56
So I'm student A. I go to my class. I, you know, bomb on my tests. I didn't do well on my test because maybe I had a heartbreak and I was also, you know, feeling under the weather. And now I'm really, really consumed with anxiety because this test was one third of my overall grade. And I just don't feel like I am going to be successful in this class. Tell me how a student might then use this app to then address those concerns or those feelings.

0:10:37
Definitely. So for the stress and anxiety portion, I would tell the student to go to the Explore tab and just type in stress or anxiety into the search bar, and it's going to operate pretty much like a Google search, but within the app. And it's going to take you to, first, our CAPS services and CAL, which is another mental health app initiative that the university really adopted. So CAPS is Counseling and Psychological Services. And it's really going to help integrate you and get you into a meeting with them or into some of their resources as well. But then on top of that, for maybe just for helping the student find information on like study tips and how to build better resources. It's going to take you to the tutoring center here at the university and the library. And then there's over 2,500 different evidence-based resources within the app that's going to also be there for you to really integrate yourself and just type in like new study habits, how to study better for X, Y, Z topics. and it's going to start promoting and prompting you to view more of those resources as you utilize the app.

0:11:43
So do you find that the resources change depending on if the person is an undergraduate student, grad student? Is it able to, you know, pop out different resources based off of, you know, in terms of how they've matriculated in some way? So I guess that's kind of a two-part question for me.

0:12:04
So on the interfacing of the app, everybody's gonna be able to access the same exact resources. However, what we did is for different departments and for different resources, specifically like the Graduate College, we've been able to go ahead and just put in like little notifications and headers at the top of every resource that you click on that say, oh, this resource is for graduate students only, because as they go through the app and you start utilizing it, it'll take you to different apps and links and resources. So one of the big things is like, you know, grad students have a different platform that they kind of access and do everything through. So at the beginning of that portion, it will say this is a graduate student resource only, but students, everybody's still able to view it, if that makes sense.

0:12:53
And then, Trey, how do you promote this app to the UNLV student body?

0:13:01
Yeah, so being that we just launched January 24th, marketing efforts have been a really big thing for us. So we've done a lot of Instagram takeovers with the university. I've gone to a few different first-year seminar programs. Dr. Jalien has helped to promote it and get it into different newsletters around the university. But right now the biggest thing that we're doing is just word of mouth to really help us get started. We are in the process of trying to get this app put into orientations to really target the incoming students and then the first-year seminar courses as well. Those are some really big key areas that they're letting us go into their classrooms and present for the first couple of minutes of any of their sections, which is really just allowing us to get into that program to start changing kind of like a culture. So we have all of these minds of how we had to do something before, and now we're trying to change a culture with this app and really be able to say, hey, here's this new resource. So implementing it is starting to take a little bit of time, but we've seen some pretty good growth numbers from day one to present day.

0:14:07
And when you all sort of took on this ambitious project, what are some of the success milestones that you sort of imagined for the rollout? You know, did you have goals like a certain number of students enrolled by the first three months or six months or in 12 months? Like what does success look like for this app and this initiative?

0:14:29
Yeah, definitely.

0:14:30
So, some of the first milestones that we were really looking for was just to see the app completed. Dr. Jalene has spent almost eight years trying to get this resource here to campus. And you know, when CARES Act funding came through, we were really able to get a little bit of that funding to bring the app itself. So that was the first major milestone. Next, you know, it's getting that student engagement. So while we didn't have necessarily super, super quick turnaround goals, we are looking for next August to have over 2000 users kind of using the app. And right now we're on track to do that. So if we can get into these orientation programs, that's going to be definitely beneficial for us. Other milestones were when President Whitfield put us into his campus address. You know, that really helped build the traction and show that it's been concrete and into the university, being that we have a three-year contract with this app, just to start with. So those were some of the big key characteristics, but, you know, just seeing it go around and hopefully getting published in some research, that's going to be all amazing work for us.

0:15:40
Are you familiar with some of the other milestones that California schools saw at this project? What was the reason to seek out this resource? I'm sure that was very successful in California schools. Are you aware of some of the milestones that they were able to achieve through this web-based

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app?

0:15:58
So I'm not exactly familiar with California school district specifically, but I do know a little bit of information from Colorado State University, being that they're pretty similar in size compared to you and LG. So they had almost 90 percent of their student body using the app within the first two years. So that was extremely beneficial. We do realize that that was five years ago, you know, pre-pandemic, and they have a little bit more of an in-campus presence. So we're looking to hopefully within the next two to three years have at least 50% of our student body using this app and having this resource available to them.

0:16:39
So you mentioned trying to factor in U at UNLV through orientations. Have you given some thought about how that might work? Will it be interactive? Will it just be, you know, slid into the parent-family portion of orientation? How will, you know, those that come to orientation come to know UNLV?

0:17:02
Definitely. So I am currently working with ABP Barb Roberts, Associate Vice President Barb Roberts for Financial Aid and Admissions, and so she's really the one who's helping us get this kind of put in and involved. So we're working with her. I don't necessarily have all the details yet as it's still getting planned, but into their student booklets that they send out with each student orientation. I know that we just sent over some marketing supplies that they're going to put into there. We're thinking and talking about going into the pre-orientation module. So this quick kind of onset right before you come to campus for your orientation session. And then I'm hoping that I can get into one of their student speaking sessions or if we can get into the campus resource fair that they have at the end of every orientation. Those are some of the implementations that we're looking for, but nothing's 100 percent concreted yet as they're figuring all of that out right now.

0:17:59
for our listeners, how do they find the app?

0:18:03
Yeah, so right now, really any major UNLV social media is gonna have linking in some of their bios. So I know that the UNLV Instagram page has this linked in their bio right now, but they can just go to you, so you.unlv.edu and be able to log in and create their account right from there. And then also posted around campus, there are QR codes with more marketing that they are able to just go ahead and scan right away and download and create their account. So I know it's been an early stage of development,

0:18:37
but what are you already seeing based on what users are looking for or what type of advice, or are they spending more time in one domain versus the other? What are you finding out thus far?

0:18:54
Yeah, so right now we have a little over 500 different users and I think that they're all just kind of clicking on a lot of different buttons. There are some students who are clicking on a lot of the diversity and inclusion aspects. Some people are just clicking on the connection links on how to get involved in the different student organizations here on campus. And then there's some that I've noticed that are just clicking on and going through all of the resources, just seeing what's available. So while they might not be spending much time on every single portion of the app, they're looking at all the resources that they have so that they know what's available to them.

0:19:33
And I know this is such a huge project. And as you said that, Dr. Jalene, eight years in the works, and I know you came on as an undergraduate student five years ago. How rewarding has it been to see this project come to fruition at UNLV's campus?

0:19:53
Oh, oh, my gosh, that is a great question. I I've loved seeing every moment of it. just to be able to be a part of this project and watch it grow, you know, from day one when Dr. Jalene had, you know, brought me into fitness for finals and, you know, just seeing like that little engagement at the start to how that blossomed and grew, which has eventually started to turn into you at UNLV, watching it grow has been one of the most rewarding things, you know, I grew right alongside with it. So I can say like, I've definitely changed from day one of being a freshman at UNLV to day, I don't know, 700 of being a master's student here and being able to watch it grow and kind of follow that process. It's been like a reflection of myself and it's been a reflection of Dr. Jalien. So just watching that growth has been the most rewarding thing that I

0:20:44
could ever imagine. So Dr. Jalien is not here. Tell us about her. What is she like? What drives her? We see that her research examines the increasing incidence of college student depression, intervention preference, and the bidirectional relationship between depression and cardiorespiratory fitness. But you know you see her, you work with her every day. This is a big project. Tell us, kind of give us a sense of who she is.

0:21:10
Yeah, definitely. So as we all know right now, Dr. Jalene's current position is to be the Assistant Dean for the School of Integrated Health Sciences. And I think that role just like exemplifies Dr. Jalene. She has been one of those people who like has a true passion for her students. I know for me and from my personal story with her, like day one, I said, I want to get involved with you. And she said, OK, if that's what you're saying, I'll get you involved. I'll build the connections with you. And I can say Dr. Jalene put so much time, effort, and pride into her work and into her work with students that honestly, I don't know what this university and this school would even be like without her. I can't imagine a day that Dr. Jalene's not putting 110% of her best effort into everything and then you know just working with her you know on a little more personal note and like just in the offices because we're right next door to each other. She's one of those people who are always there for you. She makes sure that she can connect with you. She makes sure you're you know you're having a good day and being that she's my supervisor as being a graduate assistant, she makes sure that I'm not only you know just meeting my hours for work, but she's making sure that mentally I'm healthy and that I'm thriving and succeeding in my program, succeeding in work and just meeting any of my personal goals as well.

0:22:35
Now, I know this was sort of built and marketed to undergraduate graduate student, but it seems like it has a lot of application for just the, you know, teaching faculty and non teaching faculty and other employees at the university, what is your thought about the app being available to that population as well?

0:22:58
Yeah, so this app has plenty of resources for our faculty and staff as well. There is another portion of the app that is geared directly towards our faculty and staff. We weren't able to purchase that one just yet because, you know, we wanted to see the rollout before we started putting thousands of more dollars and asking for more funding to add in that aspect as well. But being that we've been able to see the growth that this has already started to build in just under a month and a half, a month and like a week now, it's been astronomical. So in the future and future kind of thought processes is we do want to get the faculty and staff portion to the app and really be able to market and promote that as well. Because, you know, one thing that we always hear is like, oh, we need to make sure our students are happy and healthy and, you know, mentally stable and focusing on what they need to in their lives. But we forget about the people who are behind the scenes, the teachers, the custodial teams, the people who run the SU, who are up in upper level administration. And we have to make sure that they're thriving and make sure that they find their connections and purpose on campus so that they can still want to deliver like their best form of education to us as undergraduates and to us as graduate students.

0:24:09
All right, Trey, we'll get you out here on this last question. I see here that your favorite quote is by Atticus Finch and Scala Mockingbird, what good are wings without the courage to fly?

0:24:19
Tell us why. Yeah, so you know, what good are wings without the courage to fly? That was just something that really resonated with me since I first read the book, you know, in my high school freshman or sophomore lit class. And when I read those words, I made that kind of a statement of myself. So it was kind of my slogan and go to through all of my high school experience. It's what I put on my cap at the time. But really, my purpose in saying that is that, you know, you have to be able to take a chance you have to really be able to you know step out of your comfort zone think outside of the box in any of those terms and really you know just put yourself out there being able to say like what good are wings without the courage to fly well you know everybody could have wings but who's going to be the person who you know takes that initial step who's going to be the person who wants to make a change, even if it's not the popular opinion. So for me, What Could Our Wings Without the Courage to Fly was me coming to UNLV and leaving the comfort of my small town back in Green River, Wyoming, and really being able to say, this is me thriving, this is me taking that next step into adolescence and then into my future careers. So that's what it's meant for me.

0:25:40
Well, Trey, thank you for joining us, and thank you for sharing, you know, how much has evolved with this app and just all the resources that are embedded in the app itself. Renee, what were some of your takeaways from today's session?

0:25:55
Well, first of all, kudos to Dr. Jalene. I'm excited about what's taking place with you at UNLV, we definitely get her back on the podcast so we can hear about what made her seek out this wonderful resource and to hear more about the research. But kudos to her for setting the bar high about what it means to really be there for students and to care about their holistic health. I'm really excited about these resources because we know that student affairs professionals, faculty, staff, we cannot be there with students all the time, everywhere. And there are just a myriad of things that students go through. They need those type of wraparound services, but they also need to feel like they can speak in ways that can be confidential. And it sounds like this web-based resource is something that can do that. I'm also glad to hear that Trey is such a great ambassador for this app. I think it takes a lot of courage to come forth and talk about their areas of vulnerability, their areas of where they've grown, and how they felt and were successful as a student. And now this is what he believes is one way to keep students connected. And so I'm really glad to see him thrive in this way, and I'm also glad to see that he's able to give back and be ambassador to not only for the program, but to just really be mentoring students in this way by showing them that it does not hurt to ask for help. It does not hurt to make yourself vulnerable enough to sign up for your account and get all these wonderful resources.

0:27:32
What was your takeaway? Well, you know, I appreciated Trey's just, you know, capturing his passion for this project. And then also how Dr. Jalen brought him in early on as an undergraduate and how that relationship has grown. That mentor mentor relationship and and how she's been steadfast in getting this resource available to the university. And it's been a long journey. But, you know, they have sort of met that challenge and the application is here. And within the app is is very impressive that the app actually customizes itself to your response. It adapts to your needs and establish those priorities. And I'm certainly looking forward to making sure that CEO is represented and all of our resources are also embedded in this app so that, students who have need can access what we do through all the available vehicles that exist for us to inform students that we are here to help them be successful.

0:28:35
And then what a wonderful way to roll this app out, you know, in light of COVID and the CARES money that we received. Dr. Dailene and to Trey for doing this and taking that momentum to say this is the time using those funds to make this resource available. For more Let's Talk UNLV, be sure to follow us on social media where you can get the latest updates on the show plus great behind the scenes content. We're on Facebook at Let's Talk UNLV Podcast, Twitter at Let's Talk UNLV, and Instagram We're on Facebook at Let's Talk UNLV Podcast, Twitter at Let's Talk UNLV, and Instagram at Let's Talk UNLV Pod.

Transcribed with Cockatoo