Meet the Founder!

Sanya Ailawadi is the founder of Collegiate Connect, a peer listening initiative dedicated to making mental health support more accessible, compassionate, and stigma-free for college students. She is a Psychology student at New York University with a deep academic and personal interest in adolescent development, trauma, and community-based mental health care

Sanya created Collegiate Connect out of a recognition that many students struggle in silence, not because support does not exist, but because it often feels out of reach, intimidating, or clinical. She was motivated by the gap between institutional mental health services and the everyday emotional realities of students navigating academic pressure, identity development, and social isolation.

Through Collegiate Connect, she aims to build a culture of peer listening rooted in empathy, trust, and accessibility—where students can feel heard without judgment and supported without barriers. Her work is guided by the belief that meaningful mental health support does not always begin in clinical settings, but often in simple human connection.

Sanya’s broader work in psychology and advocacy reflects a commitment to trauma-informed care, youth mental health equity, and strengthening community-based systems of support for young adults.