The first cohort of YPI began in the summer of 2005. As our first group they taught us as much as we taught them. For their focus issue they chose Adolescent Depression because they believed it was a root cause for many of the challenges teens face today. In their research they learned that 5% of teenagers are afflicted with clinical depression. They felt that little was being done to address this issue - nobody talked about it and the stigma associated with the illness prevented those suffering with it from receiving help.

They came across a program called Adolescent Depression Awareness Program (ADAP) that was in the final stages of developed at Johns Hopkins College of Medicine. The product of Dr. Karen Swartz, a leading expert on adolescent depression, ADAP is a 3-hour curriculum taught in high schools that teaches students about the illness of depression, symptoms and treatments.

Dr. Swartz was looking for ways to take the program nationally just at the time YPI contacted her. After some initial meetings with the students, Dr. Swartz agreed that Tulsa would be the right place to pilot her program for the first time outside of Baltimore. YPI students agreed to replicate Dr. Swartz's research in Tulsa to help validate the program. In order to accomplish this, the students approached University of Oklahoma College of Medicine to see if they would not only conduct the research study, but to also provide instructors who could go into Tulsa-area high schools to teach ADAP.

In addition, the students were challenged to recruit schools to participate in the study - in effect, influencing the high school curriculum to better meet the needs of students. They succeeded in getting 7 schools to participate in the researching involving over 800 students in the first year.

As they approach the end of their second year, Cohort 1 is poised for success in achieving their vision. In the third, and final year, half of the cohort will be graduating but there is still work to be done. Those remaining will be charged with finding a permanent home for ADAP so that their work will continue on and raising the funds necessary to support the program with professional staff.