Business Student Helps Launch Innovative Accountability Initiative at the University of New Haven

My experience working with David Sussman, founder of the Uccountability program and chief visionary officer at The Family Security Plan®, and being able to help build Uccountability within the University of New Haven ecosystem has been nothing short of transformative. The work has challenged and shaped me both professionally and personally, pushing me to grow in ways I did not expect when the project began.

At its core, Uccountability is a goal-setting and accountability platform grounded in structured reflection, peer support, and consistency. Students are placed into small accountability groups known as “pods,” where they define individual goals, engage in regular reflection, and support one another through shared progress and overcoming setbacks. Uccountability functions as a human-centered system that emphasizes habit formation, self-awareness, and community, and is not just another productivity tool.

The impact of this structure on my own life has been profound. As a full-time student balancing work, family commitments, and real responsibilities, I’ve found it can be easy for my personal goals to fall to the bottom of my priority list. Uccountability created a framework that made those goals feel both visible and achievable.

For example, I set goals around improving my physical fitness and sleep routine, two areas that had suffered due to an unpredictable schedule and constantly competing demands. Through weekly goal refinement, daily reflection, and accountability check-ins with the people in my pod, I was able to identify patterns, adjust expectations, and build realistic habits. Knowing that others were tracking progress alongside me, and that I was equally accountable to them, made consistency possible in a way I had not experienced before.

Professionally, the lessons I have learned working alongside David will extend far beyond my time as a student. David is a leader who exemplifies vision, integrity, and trust in people, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate with him.

Observing how he approaches challenges, empowers collaborators, and build something meaningful from the ground up has been inspiring. He represents the type of leader I aspire to become in my own career.

From a technical and developmental perspective, my involvement in Uccountability has exposed me to an interdisciplinary learning environment that goes well beyond traditional coursework. I have worked at the intersection of product development, user-experience design, systems thinking, and behavioral psychology, contributing to decisions about platform structure, user flows, and engagement mechanisms.

Operating in a startup-style environment has shown me that this is where I thrive. The absence of a predefined rulebook, paired with constant problem-solving, has been energizing. We are regularly faced with new challenges, and working through them collaboratively has been one of the most rewarding aspects of the experience.

One of my greatest takeaways from this work is my belief that Uccountability will be a truly life-changing experience for students within the University of New Haven community. While universities excel at teaching technical and professional skills, Uccountability focuses on the human skills that sometimes go unaddressed: self-discipline, reflection, consistency, and community. It teaches students how to show up for themselves, how to support others, and how to build habits that sustain long-term success far beyond the classroom.

Most importantly, Uccountability emphasizes the power of community at a time when meaningful connection is increasingly rare in a technology-driven world. The sense of belonging that comes from shared accountability is powerful, as myself and the other members of the inaugural cohort can attest to.

Many of the goals I have accomplished through Uccountability, both personal and professional, are achievements I can confidently say I would not have reached without the support, structure, and community this program provides.

Members of the University community can continue the conversation at a student panel featuring the inaugural Uccountability cohort on February 2 at 2 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge, Bartels Hall.