Politics Unusual: 12 Elected Officials Who Get Things Done

J. Kyle Straub, President, Indiana University Student Association

The Challenge: The campus has experienced several suicides and alcohol- and drug-related deaths since 2011.

How He Tackled It: Last spring Straub helped lead Culture of Care, a week of workshops, diagnostic screenings, and demonstrations designed to help students cope with mental health, sexual assault, and substance abuse issues. Worried that a suicide awareness video created for the event wouldn't resonate with students, Straub stepped in and told his own story: He'd struggled with an eating disorder and depression in high school.

Next Steps: Straub plans to run Culture of Care as a year-round initiative. "Mental illness is so stigmatized," he says. "I want to confront it." —Madeleine Frank