Active Minds

Katharine Penzo from Active Minds at University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice says:

"When I was a sophomore, my chapter at Bryn Mawr College screened The Truth about Suicide, a documentary about students lost to suicide on college campuses in the United States. This was our first event as a chapter, and we had really pulled out all the stops to draw attention to our new club. We set the video to play each hour in the student union, hung posters with college suicide statistics written in magic marker, and distributed free yellow ribbons (for suicide awareness/prevention) to passersby.

I remember looking around at the student center and finding myself overcome with emotion, an experience I would come to describe as 'that warm, fuzzy, Active Minds feeling.' There was the thrill of bringing the highly stigmatized word ‘suicide’ into the open air. There was the sense of accomplishment that my chapter felt with planning such an event. Finally, there was the excitement of students coming together to support their peers.

'That warm, fuzzy, Active Minds feeling' would come over me several times over the next few years. Campus events that we planned elicited that feeling. The same was true of chapter meetings that went particularly well, or e-mails and letters from campus administrators. I felt it at the Annual Mental Health on Campus Conference; this introduced me to student leaders from around the country. When I joined the Student Advisory Committee (SAC), I was able to connect with other student leaders on the basis of our warm and fuzzy feelings, and harness those collective feelings to change the conversation on mental health.

In many ways, Active Minds has become a sort of family for me. As I have grown more and more involved with Active Minds, I have connected with students, faculty and advocates from colleges near and far. They have become both respected colleagues and lifelong friends. I believe that Active Minds will truly make a difference in the way that mental health is viewed in our society, and that the 'warm, fuzzy, Active Minds feeling' will sweep the nation!"