Duval County Public Schools Innovation Challenge

Application

Students should form a team of four and submit an online application outlining their innovative approach to this year's challenge. Applications should briefly describe the problem your team hopes to address, your proposed solution, and how your idea could help students recognize early warning signs of opioid misuse and support their peers.

Following the application period, four teams will be selected to participate in the 2026 MedNexus Innovation Challenge based on the creativity, feasibility, and potential impact of their proposed solution.

Applications for the 2026 DCPS Innovation challenge will open on August 26, 2026.

Innovation & Mentoring

During September and October, each selected team will work with a University of North Florida faculty mentor to research the challenge, refine its concept, and develop an innovative solution.

Teams are encouraged to think creatively about how technology, education, communication strategies, and community partnerships can improve opioid awareness, encourage early action, and reduce stigma. Solutions may include digital tools, mobile applications, awareness campaigns, educational resources, community initiatives, or other scalable ideas that positively impact student well-being.

Throughout the challenge, faculty mentors will provide guidance, feedback, and support as teams strengthen both their solution and final presentation.

Mandatory Kick-Off Meeting

October 1, 2026
5:00–6:00 p.m.

This virtual session introduces the challenge, competition expectations, judging criteria, available resources, and mentoring process.

Judging Criteria

Projects will be evaluated on:

• Innovation – Is the idea creative and original?
• Impact – Will it make a meaningful difference for students and the community?
• Feasibility – Can the idea realistically be implemented?
• Evidence – Is the solution supported by research and thoughtful reasoning?
• Presentation – Did the team clearly communicate its idea and respond effectively to questions?

Final Pitch Competition

The MedNexus Innovation Challenge concludes with a live pitch competition where each team presents its solution before a panel of leaders from healthcare, education, business, and the community.

Teams will explain the challenge they addressed, demonstrate their innovative solution, and describe its potential impact on student health and well-being.

In addition to competing for scholarship awards, participants will receive valuable feedback from judges while developing skills in innovation, teamwork, critical thinking, and public speaking that will benefit them in college and beyond.

Thursday, November 12, 2026
5:00–7:00 p.m.

UNF MedNexus Innovation Exchange
9911 Old Baymeadows Road East
Jacksonville, FL 32256

Samuel Mathies, M.A.| Associate Instructor School of Communication 

Sam Mathies began his study of communication as an undergraduate student on the speech and debate team. He qualified for national competitions and received many awards. He continued his education and has taught in the communication field and coached speech and debate for over 30 years.  He focuses on applying theories of human communication to a variety of relational contexts. He teaches courses in Public Speaking, Group and Team Effectiveness, Communication Theory, and Intercultural Communication. His primary areas of service on campus include serving as the track coordinator for the Communication Studies major, being an active member of the Student Conduct Board, and providing academic advising to new students during summer orientation. Outside of UNF, Sam enjoys running, gardening, and raising chickens.

Stephanie Hooper, MPH| Instructor of Public Health

Stephanie L. Hooper is an Instructor in the Department of Public Health in the Brooks College of Health (BCH), teaching Foundations of Public Health, Promoting Physical Activity and Healthy Eating, and Personal and Public Health. Outside of the classroom, she serves as the faculty advisor to the UNF Public Health Alumni Network (PHAN), a group of professionals that are dedicated to service, education, and student engagement. Additionally, she is a co-faculty lead for a Brooks College of Health student group titled the Brooks Ambassadors, a selection of exemplary BCH students that represent the college at recruitment and community events and are provided with mentorship and leadership training. Within the community, she is the Chief Scientific Officer for a Jacksonville-based company centered on health and wellness. As such, she coordinates research studies focused on health behaviors, supplements, and products, often with a particular focus on sleep and stress. Prior to attaining her Master of Public Health and becoming an instructor and research coordinator, she worked for over ten years in community pathology laboratories as a certified Histotechnologist (HTL).

Cristy Cummings, Ph.D. | MSW Program Director, Associate Professor of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work

Dr. Cummings earned a PhD in social work from Michigan State University, with a dissertation on help-seeking behavior of male victims of sexual assault. Her MSW degree with a concentration in Mental Health and Addictions and her Bachelor of Arts degree in women’s studies were received from Indiana University South Bend. 

Her teaching interests include research, practice, theory, gender and sexuality, the human-animal bond, and field education. Dr. Cummings’ primary area of research focuses on victims' interface with health, criminal justice, and social service organizations, and help-seeking behaviors, especially of victims of sexual violence. Gender, especially in relation to masculinity as a barrier to seeking services, plays a prominent role in her current work. Her research aims to understand and reduce disparities and to work towards communities in which victimization is neither gendered or blamed on the victim. She is interested in participatory action research and community engaged methods.

Rachel Riggs-Achorn, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor School of Communication

Dr. Achorn is a health communication, interpersonal communication, and media effects researcher. More specifically, she is interested in understanding the role of media in encouraging adolescents’ and emerging adults’ disclosure of sexual assault and mental health problems. Her hope is that her research will help university administrators and nonprofit practitioners use the findings to create more effective campaigns encouraging those affected by sexual assault to disclose their experiences in order to seek out social support and access health resources.

Dr. Achorn has published her research in the Journal of Health Communication, the Journal of Children and Media, and the Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research. She has presented her research at conferences for the International Communication Association, National Communication Association, and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.