The Magnet Cove, Arkansas, resident earned a bachelor’s in studio art with a minor in photography from UA ������Ƶlogo in 2017, but never imagined she would pursue a master’s degree.

“Thanks to the Shelby Breedlove scholarship from UA ������Ƶlogo, the tuition assistance program with my employer at Arkansas Children’s, and a deep value for personal and professional growth, I decided to pursue a communication degree,” Wolven said. 

Wolven serves as a strategic initiatives project manager in the Patient Experience Department and as a Family Advisory Board coordinator at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. She has also been a photographer for 13 years.

“My desire to improve my communication skills comes from both my role as a professional and my role as a mother to three children, one of whom is a medically complex child who inspires my journey daily,” she said.

Her graduate school journey included personal challenges that tested her resilience.

“When I was first pursuing my M.A., I was pregnant with my oldest, and also spent four months in the NICU with him during that time,” she explained. “I had to give myself grace and take my time with the master’s, especially after finding out I was pregnant at the end of 2024. Though it took me a little longer than most since I was averaging one to three classes a semester, I did not give up.”

Dr. Julien Mirivel, a UA ������Ƶlogo professor of applied communication, was Wolven’s master’s paper advisor. 

“In her paper, she explored the nature of resilience of families facing medical hardships, especially when dealing with a child who is medically complex,” he said. “This research echoes her own experience since her child was diagnosed at birth with rare complications. Still, she persevered through her graduate work, delivered a baby in the process, and conducted meaningful research.”

Wolven has shared her research beyond the classroom, including with several staff members and parents she’s met. “I have also had the opportunity to present my research to one of Dr. Mirivel’s positive communication classes, to our Working Mothers ERG (Employee Resource Group) at the hospital, and in the 2026 Research and Creative Works Expo,” she said.

Encouraging words from her father before he passed in 2020 helped guide her through graduate school, Wolven said.

“One of the last things I remember him really telling me, when I was at a rather low point in my life, was how he thought I should pursue school further because he thought that was always something that kept me grounded and motivated,” she said. “On the days I wanted to give up, I kept reminding myself how proud he would be of me. My mom has also always been a huge supporter. . .We all can do it if we set our minds to it – one day at a time.”

Wolven said earning her master’s degree strengthened her confidence as a communicator.

“Positive communication allows us the chance to be not only the light to others, but the light in ourselves,” she said. “The way we talk to ourselves matters. During times of adversity, lean on this. During times of triumph, share this. It makes the difference.”

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The weeklong event in June brought together high school, undergraduate, and graduate students to form interdisciplinary teams focused on real-world challenges such as social anxiety, attention deficits, emotional communication, and access to mental health services. Participants used modern AI tools to create rapid prototypes of digital products, with support from mental health professionals, academic mentors, and industry leaders.

“This hackathon was a great opportunity to improve my AI skills, meet new people, and collaborate across education levels,” said recent computer science graduate Rana Olwan.

Her team created Story Buddy, a tool to help elementary-aged students express their emotions through AI-generated stories and imagery.

“It gives kids a way to talk about how they feel, especially boys, who often don’t speak up,” Olwan added.

Hackathon organizer Marla Johnson, UA ������Ƶlogo’s tech-entrepreneur-in-residence, said she considered the event a success for its impact on both learning and collaboration.

“Everyone learned a lot about mental health, about AI, and about practically working to bring those two together to create something impactful in a team environment,” she said. “Seeing the participants present their solutions was my favorite moment. I knew how much effort went into each of those presentations.”

Participants attended morning training sessions covering topics such as AI tools for rapid prototyping, prompt engineering, and regulatory and ethical considerations. Many also earned NVIDIA AI certifications, including coursework on retrieval-augmented generation and agentic AI.

Teams presented their projects to a panel of judges from Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare Systems, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The winning team, Focus Coach, developed a web-based assistant to help users combat distraction and boost productivity through real-time monitoring and mindfulness techniques.

“The idea behind Focus Coach is to help users recognize when they’re getting off task and nudge them back into focus using summarization, timers, and wellness breaks,” said James Dempsey, a senior computer science major at UA ������Ƶlogo. “Everyone struggles with focus. This is a universal problem.”

Johnson said the Focus Coach team stood out for addressing a widely shared issue.

“There is a big need for the tools they built into their solution,” she said. “When Dani DeVito of NVIDIA met with the Focus Coach team, she said she would use it and especially liked that she could nudge and be nudged by her friends.”

The hackathon emphasized student wellbeing alongside innovation. Participants enjoyed daily mental health breaks, including art therapy and a drumming circle. Dempsey said the mindfulness drumming session offered as a break during the week stood out as a surprise highlight.

“I had so much fun,” Dempsey. “It puts me in a flow state. I could have done it for hours.”

Ph.D. student Praveshika Bhandari, whose team created Hapy Capy, a Duolingo-style tool to help teens with social anxiety prepare for conversations and job interviews, said the experience broadened her perspective.

“I’ve learned how to use new AI tools quickly and work with students at different stages of life,” Bhandari said. “That’s a real learning experience.”

Anay Pandit, a rising 10th grader at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, said the hackathon fueled his interest in technology and engineering.

“Being part of a team that included Ph.D. students and recent grads was amazing,” Pandit said. “We’re all learning from each other.”

Hackathon challenges were based on real mental health needs identified by local organizations. Teen2Teen Connect, for example, was developed in partnership with the Arkansas Crisis Center to create a safe way for teens to offer support to other teens long before they are in crisis mode. The system was developed using AI prompts to include a way for teens to re-route calls to professional counselors if they feel the caller is in a crisis state.  

Additionally, Rapid Route, a scheduling and triage solution championed by the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, was aimed at getting patients matched with care faster based on urgency.

In total, students learned to apply AI ethics, prompt engineering, and software prototyping in service of community health.

Arkansas Children’s Hospital President and CEO Marcy Doderer said the students’ work aligned with growing concerns among healthcare providers.

“We see kids coming in for physical health issues, but underneath, so many are struggling with emotional or behavioral concerns,” she said. “Traditional health systems don’t always have elegant solutions, but students like these give me hope.”

UA ������Ƶlogo Vice Provost for Research Brian Berry, who served as one of the judges, praised the students’ innovation, noting that final team scores were separated by less than two percentage points.

“These projects blew us away,” Berry said. “What you all produced in just a few days was phenomenal.”

Johnson said the university is exploring ways to support continued development of the projects and plans are already underway for next year’s event, potentially with new themes and industry partners.

“We have business leaders hoping we will do an AI and entrepreneurship hackathon in their fields, or we may have challenges from five different sectors,” Johnson said. “Even if every team is not focused on mental health next year, we’ll continue to focus on participant wellbeing. Having real world problems made a world of difference. These time-compressed competitions open the door to exciting possibilities.”

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The exciting pitch competition will serve as the culminating event of UA ������Ƶlogo’s first-ever AI & Mental Health Hackathon, a weeklong hands-on summer program where high school students and college students have collaborated to design AI-powered solutions for mental health challenges created by local companies and educators. 

The program is sponsored by Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Arkansas Children’s Hospital and showcases how technology and compassion can come together to support mental wellness in our communities. Many educators and industry experts are also volunteering during the summer program to serve as pitch judges and support the students through fun wellness activities. 

“This event is more than just a competition. It’s a window into what’s possible when young people are empowered with the tools to make real change,” said Marla Johnson, tech-entrepreneur-in-residence at UA ������Ƶlogo. “These students will spend the week learning about mental health issues and the power of AI from educators and industry experts, and now they’ll get to present innovative solutions that could one day make a real impact. We’re inviting the public to come see just how inspiring the next generation of problem solvers can be.”

Attendees will watch interdisciplinary student teams pitch their final projects to a panel of judges for a chance to win a cash prize. Each participant in the program will also receive an AI certification from UA ������Ƶlogo and NVIDIA, marking their completion of the immersive experience.

The public is encouraged to come support these students and learn more about the intersection of artificial intelligence and mental health care.Reserve by signing up for the AI Hackathon Pitch Event on June 13!

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