Life lessons are things that you have to experience to learn. In this episode of The Hope Matrix on Campus host, Avery Peel is joined by Dawn Spragg. Dawn is a co-founder of the Teen Action and Support Center, which is a pillar of hope for teens in the NWA community. Dawn and her co-founders have created a place that specifically supports teens by providing resources, community service learning, and counseling, and prepares teens to enter adulthood as the best version of themselves.

Tune in to this episode of The Hope Matrix on Campus to learn more about TASC and hear how Dawn used the Shine Framework to create this amazing place for teens in Northwest Arkansas. 

Life doesn’t stop when you get to college, how do you deal with everything all at once? In this episode of The Hope Matrix on Campus, Skye Jackson shares her experience and insights into facing the multiple facets of life. Skye is finishing up her degree at Brown University and she reflects on the many challenges she has faced with friends, family, and classes. She also shares her experience overcoming those challenges and how she has learned from them.

In this another special episode of The Hope Matrix on Campus Podcast, Avery Peel shared her personal experiences of making friends in college during the Covid-19 pandemic, emphasizing the importance of actively fostering relationships and having a support network. She also discussed the challenges of setting and achieving friendship goals, the importance of stress management, and the value of small, personal moments in feeling safe and comfortable in college. Avery concluded by encouraging others to reach out to her for support and to persevere despite the difficulties they may face.

In this special episode of The Hope Matrix on Campus Podcast, Avery shared her personal experiences of grief, isolation, and mental health issues during her college years, emphasizing the importance of stress skills, happiness habits, and self-care. She also discussed her journey towards self-improvement, her struggles with depression and PTSD, and the support she received from her family and friends. Lastly, Avery reflected on the impact of loss on her life and the importance of learning from experiences and focusing on relationships.

In this episode of The Hope Matrix on Campus, host Avery Peel interviews Emily Brisben. Emily struggled with the loss of her mother at a young age and then faced the reality of a PTSD diagnosis. She has handled her life with strength and grace and aims to share her story with anyone and everyone she can to shine a light on mental illness and suicide. 

Emily shares her incredible journey, the challenges she faced, and the ways she has worked to overcome those challenges through Hope. She has an inspiring story for anyone and everyone to resonate with. Through depression, suicide, anxiety, and PTSD, Emily has numerous Stress Skills and Happiness Habits for one to learn and try for themselves. She also shares how this has led her to find strategies to help her cope with her mental illness, her purpose in life to become a therapist focused on grief and bereavement, and amazing friends whom she met in college. 

In this episode of The Hope Matrix on Campus, host Avery Peel interviews Rick Yang, who is currently a freshman at Harvard University. Rick went to a competitive high school in Westchester County, New York, where he led projects focused on promoting youth mental health. He explains his personal experience that gave him a sense of purpose and excitement toward the mental health space. 

Rick shares the process of applying to college and his experience of applying to colleges in a competitive environment. His experience is insightful to anyone who is considering applying to college or someone who is currently in the process. He also shares his insights into the first year of college, how things in his life have changed, and what skills he uses to combat challenges.

In episode #7 of The Hope Matrix on Campus Podcast, host Avery Peel sits down with Jennifer Aquino. Jennifer is a first-generation college student in her 4th year at the University of California Santa Barbara, majoring in Psychological Brain Sciences with a minor in Educational Studies. She shares her journey and the internal debate she faced when deciding to attend college. She also shares the challenges she has faced, a lot of which are derived from being the first in her family to attend college. 

Tune in to hear Jennifer share her unique experience in learning how to conquer college and find the balance between college and life. She shares tips, tricks, and strategies on how she eliminated the challenges that came with being a first-generation student.

In this episode of The Hope Matrix on Campus, host Avery Peel interviews Emily Brisben, who is a junior at the University of Dayton, and Lindsey Young, who works at the Brooks Center at the University of Dayton. Emily and Lindsey share their experiences of choosing majors and minors, the changes in direction, and the factors that went into making their decisions. They also discuss the challenges of changes and making big life decisions at the age of 18. 

This episode is insightful for anyone who has gone to college or is going to college knowing what they want to do or not. Lindsey and Emily provide personal stories to help provide background as to why they decided to do what they did and how they came to that decision. Each of them have very different stories to share, providing others with relatable experiences and hardships in college. 

In this powerful episode of The Hope Matrix on Campus, host Avery Peel welcomes Sophie Straughan, who opens up about her journey with depersonalization—a dissociative disorder that Sophie began experiencing when she was a junior in high school. With openness and courage, Sophie struggled to find helpful ways to relieve her symptoms for months and is now sharing her story to help others find their way sooner. 

This episode explores how to manage the daily impact of depersonalization while continuing to thrive academically and personally.

Tune in to hear Sophie’s intimate but inspiring story and gain a deeper understanding of dissociative disorders, along with actionable strategies for overcoming their difficulties.

More about Sophie Straughan:
Sophie is a junior Student studying clinical-community psychology at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

#TheHopeMatrix #Hope #HopePodcast #HopeOnCampus #HopeMatrixOnCampus 

In the 4th episode of The Hope Matrix on Campus, host Avery Peel chats with guests Stella Vance and Nicole Abudayeh about their transformative experiences studying abroad in Spain. Both juniors at Georgetown University, Nicole and Stella discuss their unique programs—Nicole in Madrid and Stella in Salamanca—and the different paths they took to choose them.

Throughout the episode, they explore the challenges of studying abroad, including navigating the visa process, leaving behind friends and family, and adjusting to new schedules. They also highlight how the SHINE framework helped them face these hurdles with resilience. 

From managing stress and embracing radical acceptance to balancing personal growth with cultural immersion, this episode provides practical insights for anyone considering or currently experiencing the study abroad journey. Whether you're preparing to go abroad or simply looking for advice on thriving in unfamiliar environments, this conversation is filled with valuable strategies for success.