First-Year Students Shine in Horizon Collective Showcase

They worked on teams to tackle problems ranging from the environmental costs of fast fashion, to financial literacy and AI, to social media and its effect on mental health. In the spirit of the collective, each team included students from different majors, such as psychology, computer science, marketing, and business analytics, to bring their different perspectives and talents to the table.  

“We have seen each of them work hard to learn from their communities about the challenges that affect us all and attempt solutions in support of meaningful change. And all of this in just their first year of college,” said Professor Saralynn Ruff, the program’s faculty director.

Vanessa Loza ’29,  is a psychology major, who worked with her team — fellow psychology major Helen Perry ’29, marketing and business analytics major Bianka Busquets ’29, and computer science major Vaibhavi Josi ’29 — to explore the effects of social media on mental health.   

“I am so grateful to be a part of such a great group of kind, intelligent people who are driven to making real-world change,” Loza said. “Presenting in the showcase was a great opportunity to explore an issue that is very important to me while gaining essential organizational and presentational skills.”

Another group proposed an app, Uptrend, that teaches young people about investing. The app includes features like Investing 101, teaches students how to invest their first $100, and lessons such as “Reading a Company Like a Pro” and “The Psychology of Money.” Computer science major Omar Gomez ’29 said “Our hope is to demystify the investment process for people who don’t have any experience in finance. Eventually we hope to make users capable of investing directly from the Uptrend app.” His team included international business major Logan Carcallas ’29, business analytics major Brighton Ramos-Meraz ‘29, and entrepreneurship and innovation major Esteban Velasquez ’29.

After spending their first year learning to collaborate on and present projects with other fellows from different majors, the Horizon Collective members spend their second and third years working on projects alongside faculty and with partners in industry, community, and government, Ruff said. In their fourth year, they complete a capstone project or a culminating experience such as an immersion trip.