Active Minds

Jacob Kreeger from Active Minds at Muhlenberg College says:

"By the end of my freshman year of college, I had experienced much more than I would have liked of the misunderstanding of mental health on campus. Having experienced my own depression since the age of sixteen, I had always been aware of the true debilitating nature of the illness. However, I would find out that not everyone understood, and I came to see how easy it is for a student to slip through the cracks in a college environment, and the devastation that could ensue.

At the end of that year I discovered Active Minds, after a friend of mine suggested taking a look at the group. Wanting nothing more than to create an atmosphere for open conversation at Muhlenberg, Active Minds' efforts to de-stigmatize the topic of mental health was exactly what was needed to make this dialogue possible. Since our emergence as the 182^nd chapter of Active Minds last winter, things have begun to brighten a bit at ‘Berg, as more and more students are feeling like it is okay to ask for help.   

In our brief tenure, Active Minds at Muhlenberg has become a growing power on campus. Many in our community have begun to see that students' mental health is not an issue that can be ignored. As President of Active Minds at Muhlenberg, I am very proud to say that our strides in changing the conversation about mental health have been recognized greatly, as more and more students and faculty offer support for our chapter and the movement every day. Having also recently joined the Active Minds Student Advisory Committee, I feel privileged to be working so closely with the wonderful people from the national office, who make our efforts on campus possible.

Though it may seem like an insurmountable endeavor, there are those out there who are willing to talk, willing to engage, and willing to make a difference. Not always having felt this way, it was Active Minds that first offered me this encouragement. What has resulted has been nothing short of spectacular, and I urge anyone who may read this to start their own dialogue - you never know where you may find a space for conversation about mental health to take place and develop into something even more innovative."