RADical Hope and Baldwin Wallace University Continue Partnership to Strengthen Graduate Student Resilience
BEREA, OH — September 3, 2025 — RADical Hope, a nonprofit committed to improving the lives and futures of young adults by strengthening connections and building resilience, is partnering with Baldwin Wallace University for a third consecutive year. Through this collaboration, RADical Hope’s signature program, RADical Health, will again be implemented within Baldwin Wallace’s Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program.
RADical Health empowers participants with essential skills to build resilience, manage stress and strengthen connections – equipping them to cope before reaching a crisis point. All content, resources, training and support to deliver the program are fully funded by RADical Hope for its partners.
At Baldwin Wallace, RADical Health will support first-year graduate students as they transition into the SLP program. Second-year students who previously completed RADical Health will now serve as peer Guides, fostering community and shared learning. On average, about 30 incoming students participate each year, guided by 8 -10 trained peer Guides.
“We are excited to continue our partnership with Radical Health for the third consecutive year,” said Eric Bonilla, Assistant Professor in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department and RADical Health School Champion. “Speech pathology graduate programs are historically challenging, and with the increase in stress among U.S. college students, our faculty identified a critical need to support incoming cohorts as they transition from undergraduate to graduate-level learning. Since initiating this partnership, we have observed significant improvements in student collaboration, confidence, and most importantly, resilience. This positive shift in student mindset has become a main component in our efforts to build a stronger future for the field of speech-language pathology. The partnership continues to demonstrate observable benefits for our students’ academic success and professional development, making it an essential component of our graduate program support structure.”
Second-year graduate student Savannah Skorepa, who participated in RADical Health during her first year and now serves as a peer Guide, reflected on the personal impact of the program:
“Completing the RADical Health program as I entered my first year of graduate school was exactly what I did not know I needed. To hear other students entering or wrapping up the same challenge as me was incredibly helpful in building a strong support system. I learned quickly how to be vulnerable, manage stress, communicate, and identify what is most important to me, all of which are important skills to have. I hope that my mentor group will feel the same way about the connections they make and skills they gain from our brief time together. And, for myself, I hope that I will continue to build support systems through genuine connections and conversations with my time as a mentor and far beyond completing the RADical Health program.”
This year’s cohort marks another milestone in the growing partnership between RADical Hope and Baldwin Wallace, reinforcing the university’s commitment to equipping graduate students with the tools they need to thrive personally and professionally.
About RADical Hope
RADical Hope improves the lives and futures of young adults by strengthening connections and building resilience. Its signature program, RADical Health, empowers participants with skills to build resilience, manage stress and strengthen support systems so they’re equipped to cope before reaching a crisis point. All content, resources, training, and support are fully funded for partners. Learn more at www.radicalhopefoundation.org.