Fund Helps Poole College Students Focus on Mental Health and Wellness

Poole College of Management Advisory Board member Francesca Cain-Watson believes a focus on student mental health and wellness directly impacts each student’s academic performance, personal growth and future success.

It’s why she supports Poole’s Mental Health and Wellness Fund and why she works to encourage others to do the same.

“University life can be very stressful, with students juggling many activities, tests, increased pressure and responsibility, which can all take a toll on mental health,” she says. “The Poole Mental Health and Wellness Fund is a great resource to offer a safe space for students to work through these challenges, and to help them prepare for the business world.”

Cain-Watson’s background lends much credibility to those thoughts. She graduated not from Poole, but from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences with a bachelor of arts in Psychology in 2008. She went to work for Lenovo before moving to a technology start up focused on the education space. Today, she is sales director for the Americas with Iceotope Technologies Limited.

It was her role with the startup that motivated her to connect with and learn more about the Poole College, and a family friend ultimately connected her to Poole’s advisory board. Cain-Watson now chairs the advisory board’s Development Taskforce, with a strong focus on outreach for NC State’s annual Day of Giving. She knows private support can make a huge impact on the mental health fund.

“My view is that having a focus on mental health and well-being is an absolute necessity, and I believe it’s crucial to emphasize the significant impact that donations to the Poole Mental Health and Wellness Fund can have on our students’ lives and the overall well-being of our college community,” she says.

An Idea Born from a Campuswide Initiative

She’s not alone in this sentiment. Campuswide and within Poole, there’s been an increased focus on student mental health and wellness over the past several years.

The idea for the Mental Health and Wellness Fund grew out of this conversation, says Brian Clark, executive director of philanthropy for Poole College.

Clark and his team initially brought the idea for the fund to Frank Buckless, Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. Dean of the Poole College, who was immediately an enthusiastic supporter. He kickstarted the Poole Mental Health and Wellness Fund with the help of some unrestricted donor dollars under his control, as Clark and other Poole leaders began garnering private support as well.

With the fund’s creation in January 2024, Poole now provides support for embedded counselor, Brittany Yetter, and her graduate assistant, as well as funding for Yetter to roll out new programming to support students.

Last year, Poole implemented a new strategic framework – Poole 2030 – and student mental health and wellness is central to goal one of this plan: “Empower students for a lifetime of success and impact,” Clark says.

“Goal one is not just about their academic lives and related experiences, but also their wellness and mental health,” he says. “It’s about balancing the rigors of their personal life, their life in and out of the classroom, and their future careers.”

With more than 3,600 undergraduate students enrolled at Poole, Clark says many are already taking advantage of the time and services Yetter offers.

“Students come in with strong academic experiences and expectations,” he says. “They need great teachers and great academic support, but they’re going to deal with things outside of the academic experience and this is a great resource to support students.”

Support for the Fund is Support for All Poole Students

There are no restrictions on the fund’s future use, which means it can support activities, resources, staffing, programming and other initiatives that surround mental health and well-being for Poole students, Clark says.

The fund has seen more than 100 donors contribute, with $17,666 coming in on this year’s Day of Giving. Additional funding is needed, however, to cover the annual goals associated with this fund.

Cain-Watson hopes others will join her in supporting Poole’s Mental Health and Wellness Fund.

“Supporting the Poole Mental Health and Wellness Fund can make a real difference in students’ lives, allowing them to have the needed support to thrive in college and after graduation,” she says. “The world is becoming more complex every day and having a strong mental health focus and level of support at Poole College will have a lasting impact on students’ lives, and our future.”