‘The secret sauce’

Improving youth mental health with Mosakowski Institute Director Nadia Ward and Ariel Rodriguez ’26

Clark’s Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise aims to create a world where all young people are supported in developing the social and emotional skills they need to be successful in school and in life. To help reach that goal, the Institute has embarked on the Southbridge CARES project, an innovative, equity-focused initiative supporting students’ mental health in partnership with the Southbridge Public Schools in Southbridge, Massachusetts.

Part of the project is the MAAX (Maximizing Adolescent Academic eXcellence) social development curriculum, in which Clark students like Ariel Rodriguez ’26 — known as MAAX mentors — lead lessons in ninth-grade wellness classes. On this episode of Challenge. Change., Rodriguez and Mosakowski Institute Director Nadia Ward discuss the complexities of youth mental health and the impact of having college role models working hands-on in high school classrooms.

“The students at Southbridge are really amazing, and all of the mentors connect with them in different ways,” says Rodriguez, a political science major. “We try to be open with them and use our lived experiences to leverage what we talk about in class, especially for those students who might be stressed about their life after high school or just the day-to-day stresses that come with being a high schooler.”

“I think the MAAX mentors are actually the secret sauce that makes the program really work,” says Ward. “It’s those exposure experiences that encourage young people to kind of dream about the possibility of college beyond high school.”

Challenge. Change. is produced by Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.