It wasn’t going well for Emanuel Serrato.
Between imposter syndrome, academic demands, and the sticky humidity that was unlike his hometown near Los Angeles, everything in his first few weeks at Duke felt like a sign that he didn’t belong here.
Making friends helped, but so did a fun phone app the leaders of his residential quad encouraged him to try. “I opened it up and it asked me, ‘How have you been?’” he says. “The days that I was feeling most overwhelmed, it helped me reflect on my day and what really was the center of my negative emotions or feelings.”
The app is called Shmoody, and it’s a mental wellness resource the university provides free to all Duke students, faculty and staff. Reflecting its whimsical name, Shmoody features amusing animated graphics and uplifting language designed to be appealing to young people.
It’s not news that college students are experiencing more anxiety, depression and loneliness than in years past. Duke has been aware of this for some time and has actively recrafted the student experience to address the issue. QuadEx, the university’s residential model, is a direct result of working to improve student belonging and wellness by integrating social infrastructure and support in Duke dorms.
Still seeking ways to head off crises before they emerge, the university shopped for an easily accessible system for reminding students to check in on their mental health. They tried out several apps, and Shmoody emerged both as the one testers liked best, and the one the most current students were already using.
There was one other big benefit: Shmoody’s co-founder and CEO, Nate Thomas ’99. The company was already working with a few other colleges when Duke approached them. Thomas agreed to collaborate closely with the Student Affairs office to create a two-way flow of information: Duke provides Shmoody with feedback to improve the app, and Shmoody enables Duke to see trends of student moods so Student Affairs can respond quickly to what they’re seeing on campus.
“The more data we have, the better decisions we’re going to be able to make around where to invest in programming,” says Ben Adams, senior associate dean of students for QuadEx. “We can identify things that are really better interventions for students that are based on evidence and data, not just gut assumptions.”
Some years after graduation, Thomas realized that his substance abuse was masking untreated mental health challenges. He describes hitting bottom spiritually, emotionally and physically, leading to a transformative acceptance of the help that he needed. Thomas learned healthy habits for mental well-being and went on to success in the high-stress sectors of finance and law. But his true mission was his commitment to service to others.
When Thomas met Shmoody co-founder Mike McSweeney in a 12-step meeting, McSweeney showed him an app he had built to help his own recovery. It was fun and easy to use, and after partnering on a few months of development, they realized they had something great on their hands.
“That was when we realized that we had this chance to positively impact millions of people,” Thomas says. “We can build this company with the best technology, but always with a human-centered approach. That’s what sets us apart.”
As Duke and Shmoody were negotiating over the university’s use of the app, Blake ’96 and Lois Goodner ’01, P’28, P’30 were looking to make a philanthropic gift. “We’ve seen, firsthand, the incredible amount of pressure placed upon this younger generation to be the best in every area,” Lois Goodner says. “We felt very strongly that it was really important to make sure they’re supported in a way that prioritizes their mental and emotional health.”
Blake Goodner works in health care investing, so once he tried an early version of the app and saw how effective it could be, he believed that Shmoody was a slam dunk. “This app experience tailored for the younger generation is similar to other platforms that I see having success in the professional market,” he thought at the time. “Very forward thinking to be meeting students where they are.”
The Goodners also liked how Shmoody’s chat feature identifies if a student has needs beyond the app, and links them to campus resources and services. “The more we looked into Duke’s health and wellness program, the happier we were that it was pretty robust,” Lois Goodner says. “So we wanted to make sure that what we were giving would make an impact.”
They agreed to fund the use of Shmoody on campus for three years. In the fall of 2025, Duke piloted Shmoody in Keohane Quad, where Serrato had access to it. In January, they rolled out the app to the rest of campus. “Dealing with well-being can be challenging,” Thomas says. “I went through a long time when things were really hard. My personal mission is trying to have the maximum positive impact in the world, and to get the right tools for mental health and well-being into the hands of the people that need them.”