Real Students, Real Stories
These are the students of Voice Up. Watch their films. Read their stories. Every one of them started with a challenge, and turned it into work that helps other people.
Watch Their Films
Jose Rosiles
Care for the Ones Who Care for Others
Jose Rosiles came to Voice Up thinking about people who are incarcerated, and he built the tool their clinicians were missing: Haven Clinician, a portal where social workers track clients and progress, built on one rule — AI suggests; it does not decide. Mentored weekly and presented to his Alliant cohort, the app was called the most mature product in the reviewed cohort; now a Leadership Fellow, he is turning it toward the students who will pilot it next.
Read the full storyKierra Thompson
A Mother's Advocacy: IEP Support and Postpartum Care
Kierra Thompson arrived at Voice Up in June 2025 as an active-duty Army officer beginning her transition to civilian life and a single mother torn between two callings — and the hinge was her own family: both of her sons are, in her word, neurospicy. “I turned my pain into passion,” she says, “and created the nonprofit Mothers of Jade.” Today, Spice of Jade advocates for families in IEP meetings and Mothers of Jade supports mothers, including through the postpartum season — two linked efforts that grew out of one question: what if I didn't have the resources?
Read the full storyAlishba Raza
Listening First: A Dental Guide Families Can Understand
Alishba Raza's route to dentistry began in a dentist's chair: her primary teeth did not fall out on time, she grew up insecure about her own smile, and the visits she might have dreaded became the ones she looked forward to. Now a final-year dental student in Karachi, she listened first — interviewing patients and community health workers about what stands between families and care — and built Oral Compass, a bilingual guide in English and Urdu written in plain language. “Start by listening,” she says. “Meaningful change begins when we move beyond recognising a problem and work towards solutions.”
Read the full storyDr. Sahitya Kommuru
Living with PCOS
She was nineteen, training to be a physician, when she became a patient: diagnosed with PCOS, Dr. Sahitya Kommuru learned from the inside how a woman can leave an appointment with a name for her condition and no understanding of it. So she wrote the guide she had needed — Living with PCOS — and then built the eight-week learning module that teaches from it. When two Voice Up students, one of them newly diagnosed herself, found the book, the author answered the way the book does: promptly, plainly, and in person.
Read the full storyMariam
Speaking Up: A Young Leader Finds Her Voice
Mariam is a young leader in Lagos learning to speak up for others, and her film follows her doing exactly that. Out of more than 1,000 applicants, she finished in the top ten for Overcome UK's coaching cohort. The film points viewers to her outreach guide, where the work continues.
Read the full storyOmar Basnight
The Hours Between: Work, Faith, and Building with Purpose
Omar Basnight works the hours between shifts, and he built for the hours nobody sees: the long stretch between one clinical appointment and the next, where recovery is won or lost. His app, Refined by Fire, tracks behavior and checks in during that space, so someone can step in before a person disappears. The film follows him working, holding onto his faith, and building with purpose.
Read the full storyDiana Cisneros
Puente a Mi Futuro: A Bridge for Families
Diana Cisneros grew up crossing the border to visit her deported mother, holding her little sister's hand and not knowing where to turn. Now a social work student and regional-center service coordinator, she built Puente a Mi Futuro, a bilingual platform that connects immigrant families to mental health services and resources close to home.
Read the full storyMore Student Stories
21 students and emerging professionals have built purpose-driven work with Voice Up. Films are on the way for more of them. For now, read their stories here.
Children's Literature & Mental Health
Civic Technology & Policy Advocacy
Noah · Public Policy Student · UC Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy
A policy student who built a website that makes city government easy for neighbors to follow.
Caroline · Biology Student · American University (Certificate in Ethical Leadership & Development)
A biology student who turned her father's cancer fight into advocacy that helped win $20M for research.
Malia · Environmental Studies Student · University of Oregon
An environmental studies student who turns science into tools her community can use.
Imani · Mental Health Policy Researcher · Marshall University
A researcher who spent 450 hours on the gaps in student mental health support, and wrote fixes schools can use.
Student Athlete Mental Health
Leehi · Elite Athlete · Princeton University; Team USA fencer (World #1 junior women's épée)
A world-ranked Princeton fencer studying why doing well can make athletes more anxious.
Carter · Student-Athlete · Indiana University
A student-athlete who asked 32 athletes what mental health support they would really use.
Megen · Program Founder · Ball State University
A Ball State founder building mentors, therapy access, and scholarships for young athletes.
Healthcare & Public Health Impact
Sahitya · MD/MPH Student · Tufts University (MD/MPH dual degree)
A physician and public health student who wrote Living with PCOS, the guidebook she needed at nineteen.
Kierra · U.S. Army Officer · American Public University System; U.S. Army Officer
An Army officer and mother who built IEP and maternal health support for military families.
Briona · Public Health Student · George Washington University (Health Informatics specialization)
A public health student who turns hard health information into plain language for everyone.
Omar · App Builder & Student Leader
A student leader whose app supports people in the hours between clinical appointments.
Jose · MSW Practicum Student · Alliant University; Fresno State
An MSW practicum student who built an AI-assisted tool that helps clinicians walk into every session ready.
Alishba · Public Health and Advocacy Intern
A dental student in Karachi who listened to her community first, then built a bilingual oral health guide.
Miriam · Leadership Fellow
A Leadership Fellow and mental health coach who opened a door between two organizations that needed each other.
Community Engagement & Storytelling
Kyleigh · Community Storyteller · Belmont Abbey College
A storyteller who interviews neighbors and maps their stories to fight isolation.
Brian · Community Organizer · Temple University
A community organizer growing gardens and environmental justice work with his neighbors.
Financial Literacy & Education
Jason · Finance Major · Albertus Magnus College
A finance major whose money course was adopted by his university.
Zhengxi · International Student · Albertus Magnus College
An international student who made financial education fit the lives of students from around the world.
Career Development & Professional Pathways
Shalon · MPH Student · George Washington University
An MPH student whose portfolio of purpose-driven work led to a government wellness job.
These stories are also in our free book, "Your Pathway to Purpose." Request a copy, and we will send it to you.
The Five Principles of Voice Up
This is how Voice Up has achieved what it has to date.
Collaboration
All are welcome.
Humility
We all have much to learn.
Precision
All the details matter.
Patience
We all need forgiveness.
Empathy
We must understand your why.