Healthyhorns Staff and Students Attend American College Health Association Annual Meeting

Published: June 11, 2025

Staff and Students Attend ACHA — Graduate assistants Katie Hurley, Abby Varghese and Afroze Shaikh, PhD pose by their award-winning poster, diving into the students' trends in awareness and the use of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Line.

Each year, Healthyhorns staff and Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) students attend the American College Health Association (ACHA) Annual Meeting to engage in professional development, share expertise, connect with peers across the college health community and showcase research projects.

At ACHA Annual Meetings, nearly 2,000 college health and wellness professionals gather for innovative educational sessions and dynamic networking opportunities. This year’s theme, “Broadening Our Scope,” encouraged attendees to connect and gain the insight and collaboration needed to enhance campus health and wellness programs.

Katie Guebara, RN, presents her research poster focused on exceeding accreditation standards to foster a culture of continuous improvement at UHS.

Healthyhorns staff and students showcased their research and projects on a variety of topics, from the Counselors in Academic Residence program to enhancing the environment of care at University Health Services. Highlights from this year’s ACHA meeting include:

“A Decade of CARE” – A presentation on the successes, challenges and lessons learned over ten years of the Counselors in Academic Residence program, led by CARE Director Laura Dupuis, LCSW-S, in collaboration with Brittany Boyer, PhD, and Ginny Maril, PhD.
“Healthcare and Mental Health Service Utilization among South Asian College Students” – A presentation by CMHC undergraduate research assistants Suraj Chaturvedi, Keshv Srinivasan, Kevin Bobby and Andrew Alan, supervised by Brittany Boyer, PhD.
“Nurturing Staff Sustainability and Retention Through Multi-Level Supportive Frameworks” – Led by Brittany O’Malley, MPH, CHES, and Ashleigh Hala, Associate Dean and Chief Wellness Officer at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
Health Promotion Hot Topics Panel – Featuring Brittany O’Malley, MPH, CHES, Kelly Gorman, MSc, Director of the Office of Health Promotion at the University at Albany, SUNY, and La’Tesha Hinton, MSPH, CHES, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Interim Director of Health Promotion and Prevention Services at Tulane University.
“Student Voices in College Health” – An award-winning poster presentation on student trends in awareness and use of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, led by CMHC research affiliate Afroze Shaikh, PhD, in collaboration with Brittany Boyer, PhD, Chris Brownson, PhD, and graduate assistants Katie Hurley and Abby Varghese.
Healthyhorns Data Informatics Poster – Showcased the development of a counseling center utilization tracking dashboard, led by Brittany Boyer, PhD, and Ginny Maril, PhD.
“A Faculty Toolkit for Co-Creating Healthier Academic Environments” – A presentation led by Thea Woodruff, PhD, and Nina Telang, PhD, Professor of Instruction in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering.
SHAC Poster: “Enriching Mindfulness” – A student-led poster focused on providing mindfulness resources during exam prep and high-stress periods.

Brittany O’Malley, MPH, CHES, speaks on a panel exploring health promotion hot topics at universities nationwide.

Thea Woodruff, PhD and Nina Telang, PhD.