The Moritz Center for Societal Impact, housed in The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work, hosted its second annual Social Impact Challenge on Tuesday, Sept. 15, awarding two student teams $5,000 each to implement ideas that address a social or health challenge in Austin.
Launched in 2025 at the School’s 75th anniversary celebration, the Social Impact Challenge invites graduate student teams from across campus to develop bold, community-centered projects that address challenges at the intersection of behavioral health and the arts and humanities. The teams compete for a cash prize to implement their ideas with a community partner.
“These students exemplify community-level problem-solving,” said Dean Cole. “From mindful creative practices to math skills, these projects represent what can happen when research, innovation and passion converge with the arts and humanities to address community challenges and empower constructive change.”
For the 2026 competition, five student teams, representing six colleges and schools across the UT Austin campus, competed for two top prizes of $5,000. Each team collaborated with faculty mentors before presenting their ideas to an interdisciplinary panel of judges that included: Kizzy Albritton, Ph.D., MEd, College of Education; Rebecca Feferman, founder of The FefCo and lecturer in the McCombs School of Business; Carolyn Phillips, Ph.D., RN, School of Nursing; David Springer, Ph.D., LCSW, School of Social Work; and Lina Supnet-Zapata, MBA, CMC, TxCG, CEO, Mir Care Consultants, Inc.
- Lights, Camera, Action
Ellen Alley and Karissa Hernandez (Moody College of Communication)
Mentor: Derrick Lesnau, CEO of the SIMS Foundation
A program uses film, television and role-playing to help neurodivergent UT students build confidence in navigating difficult conversations.
- Place to Belong
Xiaoya Geng (School of Social Work), Hailing Wang (Department of Human Development & Family Sciences), Maria Elvira Cárdenas (School of Social Work), Yeonjeong Seo (School of Social Work)
Mentor: Alyssa Aguirre, MSW, LCSW-S, School of Social Work
A multimedia program to connect adult friends and families of international students at UT Austin. - Access in Performance: The UT Audio Description Pilot
Madison Jackson and Beatrice Huang (Butler School of Music)
Mentor: Aaron Rochlen, Ph.D., College of Education and Moritz Center for Societal Impact
A multi-sensory program to help blind people and people with low vision experience the opera. - Creative Calm: A Mindful Creative Program
Dylan Robinson (School of Social Work) and Danny Espinosa (College of Liberal Arts)
Mentor: Mayan Herman, LCSW-S, School of Social Work
A mindful creative arts program designed for adults living with mental health diagnoses. - Historias Que Resuelven Problemas (Stories That Solve Problems)
Denise Mine de Almeida (College of Education), Maria Paula Yávar Calderón (School of Social Work), Daniela Muñoz Villareal (School of Social Work)
Mentor: Sarah Sloan, LCSW-S, School of Social Work
A math education program that uses storytelling to reduce math anxiety among Spanish-bilingual students.
Lights, Camera, Action was named one of the winning teams and will work with community partner Longhorn TIES to develop their program on navigating difficult conversations for neurodivergent students. The other winning team, Historias Que Resuelven Problemas, will work with community partner AVANCE-Austin to develop a math program for elementary-aged students.
“The Social Impact Challenge brings together some of the brightest minds from across the University — graduate students who are deeply committed to finding innovative ways to support the health, mental health, and well-being of our communities,” said Dr. Elisa Borah, director of the Moritz Center for Societal Impact. “These are big ideas with the potential to make a real difference in people’s lives and we’re proud to be a part of bringing them to life.”