When I reflect on my first days at Dartmouth, I recall being excited, curious and eager to dive in. For all its positives, a Dartmouth education also comes with considerable stress. In this world of high achievers who make everything look effortless, it’s easy to feel like you’re the only one struggling. I know I have felt that way. When I came down with mono during my first term, I needed to lean on this new community to ask for help. Professors, deans and classmates showed me grace and helped me through, and I’m grateful for that and their continued support. However, not every student feels comfortable asking for help and navigating the transition to college can be challenging. That’s what led me to Evergreen.AI. When I learned about the project, I saw its potential to make information at Dartmouth more accessible and less intimidating.
For the past two terms, I’ve been working on the Evergreen project, which was recently announced with some fanfare as an application of artificial intelligence to support wellness at Dartmouth. It was also met with skepticism, and that is fair. I don’t think anyone working on Evergreen believes that large language models can or should replace human connection. However, I would like to share my experience from the inside and explain why I’m hopeful about this project.
First, Evergreen is built on student voices and guided by faculty experts. Dartmouth students are the ones writing its content, making sure it’s accurate, relevant and grounded in campus life. Our first prototype uses a curated content library written and edited by our students, then reviewed by our professors and research experts. Every word used as the basis for Evergreen responses goes through multiple rounds of review to ensure clarity, care and safety.
Second, Evergreen is not a therapist. And that’s the point. It’s not meant to replace wellness services on campus; it’s meant to complement them with a low-stakes and approachable app. Reaching out for help can be really hard sometimes, and that’s where Evergreen is being designed to help. The idea is that it will serve as a check-in, nudge or reflection tool that leads students down the path of exploring their mental health. Many of its responses end by pointing towards campus resources, friends or real-world activities that are research-backed ways to improve and strengthen mental health. It’s a doorway, not a destination.
I know not everyone agrees with the idea of researching whether AI can be used to improve student wellness. Many were right to point to the adverse outcomes that have come from people using LLMs, like those on ChatGPT, for advice on mental health. Those LLMs are not trained to provide clinically backed mental healthcare, and using an LLM this way is inherently risky with a lot of potential to go wrong. That’s why our team is building Evergreen. Whether we like it or not, some of our peers are likely already turning to LLMs for mental health advice. I hope that Evergreen will be the safer alternative.
And unlike LLMs, we are building Evergreen specifically for Dartmouth students, with knowledge of our campus, culture, traditions, resources and more. The project is strictly overseen by Dartmouth faculty experts in the fields of mental health and computer science who are setting up guardrails and reviews to ensure the platform is safe and trustworthy. Evergreen is designed for the benefit of Dartmouth students, not to make a profit or collect data. Our goal is to help fellow and future students, and make our campus a better place.
The criticism that some of my fellow students have voiced is and will continue to be important as Evergreen moves forward. Evergreen belongs on a campus that values experimentation, reflection and student-driven innovation. That means continuing to focus on asking hard questions and testing ideas. The students working on it are proud of what we’ve helped build, but we also recognize that it is a work in progress, and that’s a good thing. We’re still learning what works and what doesn’t.
In my experience, Dartmouth students want to be part of the solution. Our creativity and drive are exactly what make it possible to take on this challenge. By supporting initiatives like Evergreen, we aim to create the kind of campus we want to live in: one where wellness is prioritized, resources are accessible and no one feels like they have to go it alone. But that support has to be earned. Evergreen is a research-based project, and it will need to demonstrate its effectiveness. The goal isn’t to assume it works — it’s to find out if it can, and to keep improving it based on what students actually need.
If you are a Dartmouth student who still has concerns, questions or thoughts on gaps that need to be addressed, you are the voice Evergreen is looking for. We invite you to continue sending us your feedback or, better yet, join our team.
Opinion articles represent the views of their author(s), which are not necessarily those of The Dartmouth.
