At the high school I went to, we were required during our senior year to do a year long project with some kind of social justice issue. In January of 2017, me and four of my friends got together in our Capstone group and decided to use mental health as our topic. Collectively, we had a ton of ideas ranging from creating video marketing for positive mental health to different activities around the school. Even after a couple of meetings, we were excited to get started.

As winter came around, all of us were stressed about scholarship interviews, college acceptances, and somehow managing to keep jobs on top of school and home responsibilities. Simply put, we were done for. However, we decided FINALLY what we wanted our project to be, and in my opinion, it could not have turned out better.

My group put on a "Mental Health Awareness Week" each with different themed days and activities for each day. These day themes consisted of: Day of Gratitude, Stress Awareness, Compliment Day, Loosen Up Lighten Up, and Acceptance Day. All of our activities ranged from handing out personal bookmarks with stress relieving techniques on them, hanging a poster in the cafeteria for people to reflect on what they're grateful for, and even having certain songs playing in the morning promoting positive mental health.

When I did this project, I didn't think it was going to mean as much as it did. It warmed my heart to see those around me become involved in something I had felt so passionate about for so long. That spring, I received a scholarship to attend the University of Dayton from Dayton Daily News, and had an article published about me in the newspaper (found here: https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/local-educati...).

In the Dayton Daily News article, the sub headline says, "Teen overcomes traumatic family situation, betters school community." That one line written about me has literally stuck to my heart ever since I first got the link to the published work. In a way, I think it's my life put into one sentence.

Even after the article was published, I didn't think I wanted to do it for the rest of my life. I came to college as an education major, did education related things, and went on my way. That was until sophomore year, this year, rolled around. I started the year being involved as the chair of Student Government's Mental Health Committee and a member of Active Minds. In addition to this, I changed my major to Psychology with the intent to one day become a Clinical Counselor.

I didn't think, in 2017, when I was doing that project, that it would become my life's work.

Just last week, the University of Dayton celebrated World Mental Health Day. The Mental Health Committee sponsored a "Stigma Free Pledge" table and had many supporting members of the community come and sign the pledge. The committee itself is working on initiatives on campus to end the stigmatization of mental illness both at the University of Dayton and beyond.

After the pledge signing event, I received MANY emails, texts, and personal comments about how much the awareness itself meant to them. I don't think anything in the world could ever compare to the feeling I had in that moment. This work is something I am dedicated to--something I will not stop doing until the problem is solved.

It's amazing to see the evolution of a single project as it's turned into my life. One single project, moment, interaction, or conversation could be the single key you may need to find out what you want to do for the rest of your life. It's hard to be asked what you want to do with the rest of your life because you're young. But if you dedicate yourself to what you know ignites a fire in your soul, there's no telling how far you'll go.

Mental Illness Awareness, helping those with mental illnesses, and giving a voice to those too afraid to stand up is something I look to do for as long as I can.

And to think, it all started sitting in a small high school desk at 17 years old, with a project I was only doing in order to graduate.