First Point
Many students at the University of Florida (UF) have been accepted under the assumption that they can exceptionally multitask their social life, work, and maintain a great GPA in order to get their degrees. This is obviously what is expected of extremely intelligent individuals, or else they would not have been considered to come to such a great school. However, from experience and research, I have learned that the constant juggle of life's objects comes with a very heavy price for most students at the University of Florida. Good grades and clocking as many work hours as possible during the week is what may be defined as a "successful student" but unfortunately at the expense their mental health. I have also gathered that the University of Florida has a Wellness Center for individuals whose mental health has suffered from being in school or even personal situations that they cannot deal with on their own, however, I believe that the system at UF is flawed and there is an opportunity here to fix a serious problem.
Description of My Belief
Given that an opportunity involving mental health is very broad and could possible representation the population of the world, I have narrowed it down to a sample population of the students at UF, roughly between the ages of 18 and 30. I believe that the need for better counseling has always existed, and the main obstacle at the University of Florida is that 141 student to counselor ratio at UF, and that is just counting the students who have gone to the Wellness Center and received help. Out of the 50,000 students at the University of Florida, there are definitely much more students who need assistance. Also, the Wellness Center at UF Health is completely free of charge to UF students, which is also an obstacle posed not only for the employees but for the school itself. Of course, the counselors who work at the Health Centers are phenomenal at what they do and practice, as well as a diverse team that can speak 14 different languages so that basically any student can be involved and be helped, but there is still an unmet when it comes to not only the process of getting help, but the ratio of students that need help quickly but have to wait to get it because of the high number of clients. This need is clearly trying to be met as fast as possible by the University of Florida, but I am 100% sure that it still exists and could be improved upon greatly, starting with broadening the spectrum of counselors, funding, and advertisement for the Wellness Center.
Opportunity Test and Q&A's
I am going to be talking to three prototypical customers today, of those being people that I am close to and consider good friends. For personal reasons, I will refer to them as Customer 1, Customer 2, and Customer 3.
Customer 1 (Q&A)
This customer has never sought out the UF Wellness Center but has the need for it.
What is the exact nature of your need?
"I think that, because of school and work I have a lot of confidence that I can do it all myself. But I realized that maybe I need to go back and see a counselor, even if its just a checkup. I had one once before, back home, but I moved away and didn't think a lot about it until I realized that maybe I needed to do it again."
When did you become aware of the
need -- that is, do you experience your need all the time or only
sometimes?
"I feel like I've always had the need, even when I was young, but life kind of gets in the way and you forget about these kinds of things, so it's always been in the back of my mind but I thought I could handle the stress on my own."
How long have you had the need?
"I have always needed some extra help, mentally, ever since I was young, and it really does help, but like I said, I haven't done much to meet this need since I have moved to Gainesville to go to school."
When did you first become
aware of their need? Why?
"I work a full-time job and go to school full time, and I realized that I'd been going through the motions and I've always been bottling things up, but that doesn't work forever. It's only been a couple weeks since I realized I needed something, and hearing about the UF Wellness Center I thought that I would give that a try soon."
How are you currently addressing your need?
"I looked up a few resources online, but most of them are quite expensive and I have been looking for something cheaper but good quality as well. I heard about UF Wellness Center but it takes a while to male an appointment so I'm not sure if I'll go there, yet."
How satisfied are you with this solution?
"I think your solution is a great idea, but it seems like a big challenge since there are so many people at UF and there is only so much money and help that a group of people can give to thousands of students. With enough help and awareness I think that it could work, though."
Customer 2 (Q&A)
This customer is in the process of waiting for the UF Wellness Center
What is the exact nature of your need?
I have been very stressed about life lately and need some sort of help pretty soon.
When did you become aware of the need -- that is, do you experience your need all the time or only sometimes?
A couple weeks ago I thought I need some help, but it hasn't always been this way.
How long have you had the need?
Like I said, about a couple of weeks. Off and on my whole life but coming to UF can be stressful.
When did you first become aware of their need? Why?
My workload and social life was a lot, so I thought that it'd be a good idea to maybe reach out to someone, and I knew about the Wellness center on campus but never thought I could get an appointment until recently when I needed it.
How are you currently addressing your need?
I tried to make an appointment with the Wellness Center but it's going to take about a month for them to get me in. I really wish it could be sooner but I guess they just don't have enough people to please everyone.
How satisfied are you with this solution?
Since I've been waiting a while to get in, I'm pretty satisfied. I just wish that it was easier to access and the wait wasn't so long. Maybe if people payed more attention to how many of us needed it as soon as possible things would change.
Customer 3 (Q&A)
This customer has accessed the UF Wellness Center and has been a recurring consumer.
What is the exact nature of your need?
I've been going to the Wellness Center for a few weeks now and it has helped me greatly, but the need that started it I guess was me needed some help with my mental health and how I could learn to deal with my stress more efficiently.
When did you become aware of the need -- that is, do you experience your need all the time or only sometimes?
A little while ago, and only sometimes, really. I guess that's why it was easy for me to wait to get helped at the office, it wasn't a truly urgent thing for me, but I'm sure its hard for someone who really needs it but has to wait.
How long have you had the need?
Only about a year, but the Wellness Center and the people there have helped a lot, maybe I wish there were more sessions, rather than just six.
When did you first become aware of your need? Why?
I really liked going to the Wellness Center, but I guess it just felt transactional at times. There are just so many kids and only so many people that can help.
How are you currently addressing their need?
I am about to be finished with the sessions at the wellness center, so far it has helped, but maybe at the end of the course I can apply for more sessions.
How satisfied are you with this solution?
They are doing a really great job over there, so I think that I would be satisfied with the solution, but I've gotten the things I needed from the Wellness Center so I think that it is beneficial for anyone who goes to them, I guess its just a matter of how urgent and how personal you want it to be.
Reflection
From talking with everyone, I can conclude that maybe the need is not really about the quality of the University of Florida Wellness Center, but rather the time that it takes and the spectrum of which students who need it compared to students who don't need it as much come into play. I was surprised to hear specifically from the second customer how long it took for them to get an appointment, especially noticing that they thought they needed it more than any of the other customers.
Summary
What I can say now from having interviewed and researched the ins and outs of the Wellness Center at the University of Florida is that mental health is an extremely hard problem to solve, and the solutions can range from urgent to simple so quickly, especially with such a large volume of students compared to counselors. I still believe though, that about 50% of my opportunity still remains, and can be profited off of but in a more moral way than just monetary. Considering that the unmet needs themselves are located more within the students than with the Wellness Center system itself, I would say that the opportunity is not as accurate as what I thought first going into this. The system itself is doing all that it can to meet the needs of the students, and while it can improve and broaden its reach towards students, it is also up to the students to look out for themselves, since they are among thousands of others who need the same assistance. I believe that adaptation is apart of everything that we do and if a business or an entrepreneur cannot adapt then they will not be successful. They must be able to gather information based on an opinion they once had and interpret this information to form a conclusion that may or may not change their minds completely, but the entrepreneur him/herself must be open to the idea that their minds can be changed.
