Ana Inciarte ‘22 has made a mission of devoting her time to caring for people and has the Salve Regina community to show for it.
Inciarte is currently a Biology major and a History and Chemistry minor with a concentration in Microbiology. When she isn’t in the O’Hare Academic Building Lab or spending time with clubs like Mad Batter Baking or Pre-Health club, Inciarte is caring for her community by volunteering with the Crisis Text Line and Peer Wellness Program.
Student Support Through Peer Wellness
Inciarte and other leaders in the Peer Wellness program seek to provide students with the tools and resources to navigate depression, anxiety, stress and topics like suicide and sexual assault awareness. Inciarte first gained interest in the program when she had a difficult time finding a community to belong to in her first year. The former Salve Regina Health Education and Prevention Coordinator, Connelly Clifford, encouraged the now over two-year member, to take a position on the board. Inciarte speaks highly of the program’s efforts to emphasize creating a safe space for students to feel they belong and that someone is listening to them, especially those making the transition to college in their first year.
“[the objective is] to educate the student body, the university community, overall, really just what it means to be healthy, like emotionally, physically, and so forth,” she said.
Being a Peer Wellness Coordinator means Inciarte still maneuvers the same obstacles as any other student but in dealing with taboo topics she finds empowerment.
“Different topics can hit home for you… topics like, depression, suicide awareness and prevention, I think, for myself, and maybe even others that it can be empowered to talk about, especially if you feel like no people who go through the same things, or yourself go through it. So it’s empowering. But I would also say it can be, again, close to home.”
Just a Text Away
Inciarte also dedicates her time to the Text Crisis Line which is an online platform that allows those who require crisis intervention or mental health support a 24-hour connection to an individual who will de-escalate or accommodate the texters needs.
Inciarte describes that volunteers are devoted to giving the texters the ability to speak openly about their struggles, what coping skills would be appropriate for the situation and provide them with proper resources.
The Peer Wellness Coordinator and volunteer recalls she joined the program at the very start of the COVID-19 Pandemic so that those struggling during lockdown had a place to go.
“I applied [March 2020] because I knew a lot of people had school as a safe space to work and socialize. But with the lockdown, they had no choice but to stay in their toxic environments.” She said “So I was like, ‘Okay, this seems like a great time to just help people when they need it.’”
Her experience in both Text Crisis Hotline and the Peer Wellness Program has not been for nothing. Inciarte owes her communication skills to both organizations requiring her to engage with the student body, collaborate with her co-leader and committees and coordinate with staff and faculty. Maybe most importantly, foster relationships with students who are struggling mentally on Salve Regina’s campus and bring them some form of comfort.
Beyond the setting of the program, Inciarte finds that her experience has taught her to take initiative and be a “self-starter” and hopes to not only carry these skills into organizations throughout the University but her career where she plans to follow a Pre-Med path in the next few years. It is undeniable that Inciarte has put in the time to be a face on campus that students know they can come to and that cares.
Catherine Fiocco Portfolio 
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