As she visits the 17 first-year courses in the College of Engineering (CENG), mechanical engineering lecturer Sarah Harding asks those who have been CPR certified at some point in their lives to raise a hand. In an average classroom, around half of the students raise their hand. She then asks if anyone is mental health first aid certified. In an average classroom, no student raises a hand.
Based on research carried out by CENG faculty, engineering students are less likely to ask for help during times of need. This is why Harding and other faculty have taken it upon themselves to encourage mental wellness.
The currently used program
In the hallways of the College of Engineering, bright orange shirts unmistakably signify Mental Health First Aid Certified responders — people equipped to assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance-related crisis. Through the program designed by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, 14 faculty and staff in CENG have learned risk factors, warning signs and strategies to address mental health and addiction.
“I grew up in a generation where we didn’t talk about [mental health] so we never learned that other people were suffering,” Harding said. “But I have students that are able to openly tell me about their mental health struggles, I think partly because I started sharing my own journey.”
Mental Health First Aid utilizes an Action Plan, outlined by the acronym “ALGEE.” It stands for assess for risk of suicide or harm, listen nonjudgementally, give reassurance and information, encourage appropriate professional help and encourage self help and other support support strategies.
Harding, after receiving her certification amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, had the idea to bring Mental Health First Aid to the College of Engineering.
“I started realizing that we as faculty are the first responders. We are the people who see students every day,” Harding said. “Campus Health and Wellbeing is there, but they’re only there if students seek them out.”
Harding and the 13 other staff opted-in to certification. The training demonstrates how to use the action plan in different situations instructors may find themselves in — including panic attacks, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, acute psychosis and overdose or withdrawl. The course was specifically designed for those working in higher education. Harding hopes to have 50 of the 200 CENG faculty and staff trained by the end of the year.
The college’s mental health initiatives are based in science — much of it based on data and research its students and faculty are conducting themselves.
Lack of mental wellbeing for engineering students
In 2020, Cal Poly computer engineering Professor Andrew Danowitz and his research partner Kacey Beddoes surveyed engineering students at eight universities across the nation about their mental health.
They found that 66% of engineering students surveyed had symptoms of at least one mental health condition; however, only 24% of these students had received an official diagnosis from a medical professional. In comparison, the diagnosis rate among the general population of the eight universities surveyed sits at 37%.
At Cal Poly, the College of Engineering is home to around 6,000 students. If the numbers hold true here, this means that while almost 4,000 students have one or more symptoms of a mental health condition, less than 1,000 have received an official diagnosis.
There is no data to suggest engineering students struggle with mental health disorders at higher rates than students enrolled in other programs, but Danowitz’s research suggests that engineering students are either “underserved by campus mental health resources or as suggested by previous research, are simply less likely to use these resources,” he said in a College of Engineering article earlier this year.
“There are a lot of students in engineering that just think it’s supposed to be this hard, difficult curriculum, but you shouldn’t feel so sad when you’re going through it,” Harding said.
Collaboration and connection
She said that collaboration is vital to success in engineering.
“I think students are locking themselves in their bedroom and trying to do work by themselves,” Harding said. “And that makes engineering really, really difficult.”
Mechanical Engineering Department Chair Peter Schuster is working to identify some engineering-centric study spaces amid the closure of the Kennedy Library to re-establish some of the grassroots efforts of collaboration and connection.
The importance of connection, as mentioned by Harding, is essential in both engineering and beyond. According to the CDC, connectedness can lead to better overall health and improved well-being. This is why computer science and software engineering students and faculty have taken it upon themselves to study the interconnectedness of the department.
Computer science assistant professor Theresa Migler is working with a group of students to trace the social networks of nearly 600 students to understand the state of mental health among them.
“I hypothesize that we’re going to find that students who have more contacts, more connections within the department will feel healthier. Faculty want students to be healthy and we want students to feel like they belong,” Migler said. “Hopefully, this will guide us to find ways to forge friendships, create community or set up spaces that allow for more community.”
Computer science master’s student Rachel Izenson is one of the students working with Migler to research the connectedness of their department.
“Hopefully, we see results that can point us in the direction of how connectedness ties into the inclusivity part,” Izenson said. “We would assume that people who are more connected within the department are going to be more successful.”
To find this community, many engineering students seek out clubs and groups to connect with one another. Izenson is a part of Women Involved in Software and Hardware and credits many of her connections to her involvement in the club.
For aerospace engineering master’s student Payton Porter, the Society of Women Engineers is where she finds community. Porter is the club’s current president. One of the club’s central focuses is making connections between women in engineering that extends beyond the Cal Poly community.
“It’s so amazing to be in a room with a bunch of badass female engineers,” Porter said. “The empowerment and the feeling of support from people that you don’t know that well means a lot.”
Going forward, Harding hopes to see more conversation surrounding mental health in the College of Engineering.
“I think we need to make it so students are celebrated by us,” she said.
She wants to create a culture of belonging and destigmatize asking for help.
“The one way you can do that is by telling them you ask for help yourself,” Harding said.