College is breaking students in ways most people never see. Dana Christian Lee and Jason Reid reveal why so many young adults are overwhelmed by pressure, loneliness, impossible workloads, and the struggle to belong, and how their new documentary College Unscripted is designed to spark the conversations campuses desperately need.

About Dana and Jason

Dana and Jason bring a rare mix of lived experience, deep compassion, and hard-won insight into youth mental health. Dana, executive director of Tell My Story, explains how the film grew out of conversations with students, parents, and educators who kept pointing to the same crisis: young people are expected to become adults instantly, often without the life skills, emotional support, or freedom to navigate it well. Jason, who co-founded Tell My Story after the death of his 14-year-old son Ryan, shares why storytelling and honest dialogue can reach students in ways lectures and warnings cannot.

Website: tellmystory.org

Dana: dana@tellmystory.org

Events and screening inquiries: events@tellmystory.org

You’ll discover:

• Why the transition from high school to college feels so much heavier now than it did for past generations
• How belonging, becoming, and burnout collide for today’s students
• Why overpacked schedules, AP pressure, and social comparison are feeding anxiety and depression
• What colleges can do differently by prioritizing human connection over sheer output
• Why AI, cheating, and unrealistic expectations are becoming part of the same conversation
• How Tell My Story uses film as a turnkey campus event that leads to real discussion, not passive viewing

This conversation goes far beyond college advice. It gets into the emotional cost of perfectionism, the hidden pain students carry with them, and the urgent need for educators, parents, and peers to notice when someone is struggling before it’s too late. Dave Roberts also brings his perspective as a college educator, making the episode especially valuable for anyone working with young adults who are balancing academics, jobs, grief, family pressure, and mental health challenges all at once.

If you care about students, teach students, parent students, or are a student trying to hold it all together, this is essential listening. College Unscripted is really about something bigger than college—it’s about giving young people the space to be seen, heard, and supported as they write their own story.

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Music licensed through Soundstripe.

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