SHS Junior Ishita Jaiswal embarks on a mission to help pre-teens

Sharon high school junior, Ishita Jaiswal, has initiated a project to help pre-teenagers to develop skillsets to deal with change/ transitions that can generate both anxiety and depression. Her project is named ADAPT which stands for Addressing Depression and Anxiety in Pre-Teens. She is specifically working with kids in 5th grade since they are at the crucial stage of their development and going through physical, mental and social changes along with transition to middle school.

She mentions the transitions has been particularly tough on her and generated a lot of anxiety in her which has been affecting her ever since. Since her brother is now in 5th grade and having the similar feelings, she decided to do something about it and help the community. Her plan is to organize weekly events to start a conversation with the pre-teens and work on developing mindful habits while also having fun. She plans to submit her project to community problem solving section of Massachusetts Future Problem-Solving organization.