SERENITY, SHARED

Share this article with a friend.

September 14, 2026

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Notre Dame Prep senior Anna Kafarski is turning a personal wellness practice into Simply Serene, an app designed to give teenagers practical tools for managing everyday stress while putting a distinctly Marist conviction into practice: care for others begins by recognizing their dignity and responding to their needs.

When Notre Dame Preparatory School senior Anna Kafarski began journaling, practicing breathing exercises and learning about meditation, she was not thinking about launching a business.

She was trying to understand stress and find practical ways to manage it.

Over time, those habits became a routine. Then the routine became an idea. Now, after months of research, development, consultation and testing, the idea has become Simply Serene, a mobile wellness application Kafarski created with teenagers specifically in mind.

“Mental health and self-care have been two significant features of my life the past few years,” Kafarski said. “To help me overcome stress and mental battles, I started incorporating simple relaxation exercises into my daily routine.”

She began with journal entries, then read books about self-care, psychology and the subconscious mind and listened to wellness podcasts. During the University of Michigan’s Michigan Math and Science Scholars summer program, she also took the college-level course Psychology and the Brain, studying brain function, biochemistry, anatomy and psychology.

What followed is characteristic of the kind of education Notre Dame Prep — a Catholic school in Pontiac, Michigan, sponsored by the Marist Fathers and Brothers — seeks to provide. Kafarski did not stop at learning something that helped her. She began asking how she could use what she had learned to serve somebody else.

“I want to help others do the same,” she said. “I always thought taking care of your mental health was supposed to be an elaborate production, but it’s really just a few simple actions. That is why I created Simply Serene.”

For a Marist audience, there is something familiar in that progression from personal experience to concern for others. The Society of Mary describes its missionary spirit as one open to all people, particularly those in need, and its educational ministry in the United States emphasizes compassion as an essential tool in forming young people.

For Kafarski, that mission is taking a decidedly 21st-century form: an app on a teenager’s phone.

A need close to home

Simply Serene is being developed at a time when the mental health of adolescents has become a significant public health concern.

The World Health Organization reported that the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased 25% during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. WHO also found that young people were among those whose mental health was disproportionately affected.

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to describe adolescent mental health as a serious concern. Its 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 39.7% of high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, while 28.5% reported poor mental health most or all of the time during the previous 30 days.

The CDC also has identified school connectedness, adequate sleep, physical activity, parental monitoring and participation in sports among protective factors associated with lower prevalence of one or more mental health or suicide-risk indicators. The agency emphasizes the role schools and families can play in building supportive relationships around young people.

Simply Serene is Kafarski’s attempt to contribute to that larger conversation at the level she knows best: the daily life of a teenager.

“Teens have unique stresses and anxieties, and they should be equipped with the right tools to help cope effectively,” she said.

Her app is organized around four principal components: breathing, meditation, journaling and what she calls an “MMA-style reset.” The concept is intended to make straightforward wellness practices accessible and appealing to adolescents, a population Kafarski believed was not always the primary audience for similar products.

She also envisioned features that encourage users to complete exercises, pursue goals and remain engaged with the practices over time.

The project, however, has involved much more than assembling features on a screen.

From an idea to an app

Kafarski has approached Simply Serene as both a wellness project and an entrepreneurial undertaking.

She assembled a group of adult mentors whose expertise touches different parts of the application. They include Dr. Michael Dangovian, a cardiologist who has advised her on breathing techniques and exercises; Eric and Rina Jackowicz, yoga and meditation specialists; Notre Dame Prep Campus Ministry Director Della Lawrence, who has advised her on the app’s journaling component; and Bella Carlsen, Ph.D., a child psychologist who works for a local school district.

Kafarski also found an unexpected mentor through mixed martial arts.

While watching MMA, she became interested in the ability of fighters to remain focused amid the intensity of competition. After attending a match, she approached referee James Lee, a retired MMA fighter and coach, and asked him to become a mentor.

The connection helped inspire the MMA-style reset component of Simply Serene.

The other half of her core development team comes from OMA Comp, the digital marketing company where Kafarski has interned throughout high school. There, her responsibilities have included content production, market research, campaign analysis, website updates and client meetings.

Together, Kafarski said, her mentors and colleagues have helped her “research, design, test, validate here and abroad, and clear iOS/Android & legal hurdles.”

By late summer, Kafarski said Simply Serene had reached its final development stages and was undergoing beta testing through Apple’s TestFlight platform. She expected additional updates and validation from her psychologist mentor before presenting the app to Notre Dame Prep Principal Kim Anderson, members of the school counseling staff and Lawrence. Her stated goal was a September launch.

Anderson had already been following the project closely. In the spring, she alerted colleagues to what Kafarski was building after meeting with her about the project.

“Anna is working with Apple (as well as health care providers, mentors, professionals, etc.) on her app which helps students/people when feeling anxious,” Anderson said at the time. “The app features breathing techniques, meditations, journaling, etc.”

Anderson also noted that Kafarski had met with Notre Dame Prep’s counseling staff about the possibility of upper school students piloting the app.

“She is very passionate about this project,” Anderson added.

A Marist purpose

For Kafarski, Simply Serene is not separate from her Catholic education. She sees a direct connection between the project and what she has been taught at Notre Dame Prep.

“My personal journey, the app’s development and implementation all reflect Notre Dame’s mission as it highlights the importance of loving yourself,” she said. “As Catholics, we are called to love all of God’s creation: this includes ourselves.”

She hopes the practices that became helpful in her own routine can be made useful to other teenagers.

“By translating the routine that has helped me into an app I hope to help as many teens as possible to create a strong mental foundation they can lean on now and in the future,” she said, “and that will start with my own community here at Notre Dame Prep.”

That starting point is significant at a school whose mission is to work with God to form “Christian people, upright citizens and academic scholars.” Notre Dame Prep says its Catholic and Marist identity calls students to emulate Mary’s compassion, mercy and humility in their actions and to grow through experiences extending beyond conventional classroom instruction.

Simply Serene sits at the intersection of those aims. Kafarski has drawn on psychology and neuroscience, business and marketing, technology, faith and the expertise of adults willing to mentor her. The intended result is not merely an academic exercise but a tool conceived for other young people.

That outward focus also reflects the wider Marist tradition. The Society of Mary says its educational work is grounded in a longstanding commitment to young people, and its U.S. Province describes Marist ministry as seeking to help people experience “peace of heart and mind.”

A pattern of leadership

Simply Serene may be Kafarski’s newest project, but faculty members who have known her over many years see her initiative and concern for others as part of an established pattern.

Kafarski has attended Notre Dame Prep since first grade. As a senior, she carries a 4.0 unweighted GPA and a 4.39 weighted GPA. Her current studies include accounting, computer science, English, History of Christianity, mathematics, business and finance, Spanish and public speaking. She said she expects to graduate having taken 14 Advanced Placement and eight International Baccalaureate courses.

Her involvement outside the classroom is similarly extensive. She is president of Notre Dame Prep’s Entrepreneurship and Business Club, treasurer of Student Council, creative director of the student newspaper, head of press for the school’s Michigan Youth in Government delegation and a media editor for the statewide conference. She is also a student ambassador and captain of the varsity girls tennis team.

Kelly Simon, who taught Kafarski reading and writing in middle school, remembers the qualities behind those activities.

“Anna’s drive and passion to create change in this world is inspiring!” Simon said. “This determination has always served her well. In middle school, Anna always worked hard to improve and grow. She was a very active member in our community.”

Upper school science teacher Louise Palardy sees the same character in everyday interactions.

“She is an amazing student, always happy and kind to others,” Palardy said. “She is the type of student that enters the classroom with a smile and greeting. She is organized and cares about her work.”

Assistant Principal Nick Kator has observed Kafarski from another vantage point. As Student Council moderator, he has watched her take responsibility for projects and earn the confidence of her peers.

“I think the fact that she was elected to the StuCo executive board by her peers is a testament to her leadership and dedication to this organization and the NDP community,” Kator said.

For Kator, leadership sometimes reveals itself in small details. He recalled arriving at school shortly after 7 a.m. one Tuesday morning for an executive board meeting and finding Kafarski already there.

“That punctuality indicates in my mind she is a leader,” he said. “And she always has constructive things to say and add.”

Kator also has entrusted her with chairing major student events, including the Homecoming dance and Irish Week festivities. Student chairs design the events, order supplies, coordinate with others and handle general planning under his guidance.

“Anna has always done a great job,” Kator said. “She’s organized and talks to people really well.”

Finding her voice, then using it

Dr. LeAnne Schmidt has known Kafarski since sixth grade, as Schmidt teaches at Notre Dame Prep’s middle school.

Her perspective adds another dimension to Kafarski’s development.

“Kafarski participated in all-school debate and summer forensics, gravitating particularly toward persuasive speaking and congressional debate,” Schmidt said. “She later became involved in Michigan Youth in Government, where her interest shifted from the legislature to the press corps.”

Schmidt recalled that Kafarski helped move the program’s student press beyond a single folded sheet distributed at banquet tables to podcasts and a series of social media posts.

In a May 2026 recommendation to the National Speech & Debate Association, Schmidt wrote that Kafarski’s competitive experience had given her “a unique perspective to be an advocate” and help ensure young people have a voice.

That recommendation supported Kafarski’s candidacy for NSDA Academic All-American recognition. Her résumé lists the 2026 All-American Award among her honors, along with Notre Dame Prep academic awards, the American Citizenship Award and a Community Service Impact Award.

Her activities frequently combine communication with service or community building. As a student ambassador, she leads tours, mentors prospective students and meets families considering Notre Dame Prep. She also created “NDP Hallways,” an Instagram project designed to give younger students a more authentic view of upper school life.

The common thread is an inclination to take an idea and do something with it, just as Simply Serene applies that instinct to a concern affecting young people far beyond one school.

“They taught me how to motivate myself”

Kafarski is already looking beyond the app’s initial development. She is interested in direct-admit undergraduate business programs in college and hopes eventually to find the resources and relationships necessary to continue developing Simply Serene for other schools, districts and perhaps colleges and universities. Sales and marketing are particular interests, and she currently sees the broader wellness field as a possible career direction.

“For now I see myself pursuing a career in the wellness industry,” she said, “because I feel a great passion to help people help themselves and become the best possible version of themselves.”

Meanwhile, there’s still considerable work between her app’s high school beta test and that larger ambition. Simply Serene remains a developing student-led project, and its future reach will depend on testing, professional validation, implementation and the response of users and institutions.

Yet its origins already tell a story about formation.

After nearly 12 years at Notre Dame Prep, Kafarski credits the school not only with what she has learned but with helping shape how she approaches the world.

“I’ve been at NDP since first grade, so this school has played a crucial role in my life,” she said. “I have had the opportunity to grow up in a Catholic school where the environment is filled with genuine and upstanding people who I have learned from and who I have modeled myself on.”

She points to her faith, the morals she has developed and the teachers, coaches, administrators, staff members and friends who have accompanied her.

“They have guided me and nurtured me,” Kafarski said. “They did not just motivate me, they taught me how to motivate myself. They taught me how to make myself a better person.”

Now, as she prepares to leave Notre Dame Prep, Kafarski is attempting to extend that formation beyond herself.

The technology is new. The need it addresses is pressing. But the impulse behind Simply Serene is deeply familiar within the Marist tradition: learn, grow and then place what you have received at the service of another person.

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

About Notre Dame Preparatory School
"At Notre Dame Prep, we inspire our students to become the best versions of themselves. We challenge them through an experience of academic excellence, focused on active, project-based learning. We invite them to explore a world of opportunities beyond the classroom. We guide them as they grow in spirituality within a community strong in its Catholic and Marist identity."

Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame Prep's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDP is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.