CS + Mental Health

In-depth blog post here

I led a project to revamp an outdated Java-based screening software called TeenScreen. It was originally developed at Columbia University a decade ago and hasn't received an update since. TeenScreen is still used on over 13,000 students per year, but school administrators currently receive no technical support for the software.

During the school year, I led a team of four to port the deprecated software from Java to the web, updating the content to address modern diagnoses and providing administrators with immediate aggregate feedback. During the summer, I worked solo to finish the frontend code and developed the backend to generate custom reports for each student, gathering feedback and insights from phone calls with school administrators.

I learned not only about full-stack web development, but also determining user needs, leading a team (with technical and non-technical members), and meeting deadlines. Moreover, I learned first-hand that there are still vast inefficiencies in a variety of industries that can be reduced or eliminated with computer science. The new-and-improved TeenScreen will not only save administrators countless man-hours but also provide researchers with invaluable data to further validate and improve TeenScreen’s utility. The conversation around mental health is growing in the United States, and I hope my contributions will add to this conversation, improving early detection and rehabilitation efforts.

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