Our Story & Purpose
Mission
Vision
Letter From the Founder
As a First-Year Student at University of Florida, Simone’s life appeared “perfect”. She was getting good grades, made friends, and was physically healthy. However, she struggled with the transition to college and quickly became very anxious, stressed, and depressed. Fortunately, Simone sought out support and attended therapy which was helpful, but it really just got her back to baseline. It wasn’t until her junior year when Simone fatefully stumbled upon a credit-bearing course in Mindfulness that she went from surviving in college to thriving. In this course she learned how to deal with the trials and tribulations she was facing, how to be present, and how to better connect with herself, others, and the world around her. The effects of the Mindfulness course she took were so profound that it ultimately changed the trajectory of her career.
Upon graduation, Simone turned down a lucrative “dream job” as a private banking analyst for J.P. Morgan for a more personally rewarding path with Canyon Ranch, a premier Health & Wellness Resort in Tucson, AZ. An avid learner, Simone returned to Columbia University and received her Masters degree in Clinical Psychology in Education with an emphasis on Mind-Body Medicine. During her studies, she took a year long practicum in Positive Psychology and became fascinated with and quickly saw a need for Positive Education, the incorporation of ‘heart-based life skills’ into the academic environment. Simone realized that most efforts in this field were being geared toward K-12 education and not much was being done to help alleviate the college mental health crisis. This research coupled with her own struggles as an undergraduate student led to the realization of U-Thrive Educational Services. Simone’s deepest passion and mission is to effectuate positive change within the mental health landscape on college campuses.
“Stress is an inevitable part of life. While we can’t prevent it, we can learn tools and skills to effectively cope with whatever challenges we are faced with.”
~Simone Figueroa
