Generation Z, born between 1995 and 2012, began entering college in 2013 and will be with us through the mid 2030s. They have already lived through great social and geopolitical change and unrest, including the 9/11 attacks and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the rollout of social media, starting with Facebook in 2006 and facilitated by the 2007 introduction of the iPhone. Change continued with the Great Recession of 2008, the election of the first black president in 2009, the first Brexit vote in 2016, and that year’s presidential victory for Donald Trump. These were followed by the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical instability resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with its continuing global political realignment. Their lives have been shaped by #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo and #NeverAgain, but also by the culture that created the #IceBucketChallenge. 
 
Our students grew up in a world wired for instant communication; as a consequence, they were challenged from an early age to define boundaries and priorities as a way to cope with the constant firehose of information. Out of this din emerged a generation that cares about racial inequality, environmental sustainability and social justice. They draw from their intellectual and social capital and bear a resiliency driven by their dreams and refined by the challenges of their formative years.  
 
This resilience is challenged as Gen Z students confront a new social landscape in college. They can experience social anxiety, general anxiety, depression, lack of energy or motivation, loneliness, pressure from family expectations, relationship difficulties and even homesickness.  Many face financial concerns and housing and food insecurity, which lead to additional stress and anxiety.    
 
These challenges coexist alongside those of managing assignments, managing time, test anxiety and planning for the post-college future. We should not be surprised that with all these competing demands, our students need our support, and we need a holistic approach to student well-being.   
 
There is no single script for a student who needs support. Students may feel these challenges in the classroom or the athletic field, relaxing in their dorm room or the student union, studying or working on or off campus. We hear from caring NMSU faculty and staff concerned about students in distress. What do you do? Where do you turn? Where do you send these students?  
 
A holistic approach has no single answer, but there is guidance in “Working with Students in Distress” (see link below), created by the Department of Student Life. The NMSU community also has a comprehensive reporting tool plus guidance on where to report a concern. These reports go directly to people trained to intervene in a variety of situations and information is coordinated among members of NMSU’s CARE Team.