The Wright State Guardian

World Mental Health Day | Photo by Alexander Roberts | The Wright State Guardian

On Oct. 10, Wright State University celebrated World Mental Health Day in the Quad with obstacle courses, food trucks and mental health screenings, raising awareness and providing de-stressing activities. 

Behind the event

World Mental Health Day is important to raise awareness for those struggling and give them access to the help they need. Students are not always comfortable taking these steps and not everyone knows how to ask for help.

This event was a fun way to get students to attend and to teach them about the resources on campus.

Sara Baker, the wellness and health program manager, worked on a planning committee to bring this event to life, which included several WSU staff members.

“We’ve been meeting for months to put this day together, and it’s involved extensive planning, collaboration and hard work to pull this off,” Baker said.

This event was not like others, as it was an all-day event. The day started off with morning yoga and a continental breakfast. After the main event on the Quad finished, there was also goat yoga, goat cuddling and a cooking contest.

There were signs up to promote this event, in addition to posting about it on WSU social media accounts and Engage.

Noella Mukanoheli, a student interested in mental health, shared how she found out about the event.

“I saw a post about it on Instagram. I wanted to come check out the different booths and get a free t-shirt,” Mukanoheli said.

Importance of the event

It is always a good experience when WSU students can come together and create a community with one another. This event allowed them to foster these connections while providing resources, which some students really need.

“The purpose of this event was to increase awareness of mental health challenges around the world and mobilize efforts in support of mental health. I had a student tell me that the only reason they’re in counseling now is because of what they learned on World Mental Health Day,” Baker said.

There are many mental health resources for students on campus. The biggest of these is the Counseling and Wellness Center. They have several different counseling groups as well as one-on-one counseling.

In addition to this, there is also a Raider Cares Hotline that is available to students when the Counseling and Wellness Center is closed, that way students always have someone to reach out to.

Liz Sturdivant, a WSU student, shared what this event meant to her.

“I think this event is important because it shows students that they’re not alone. There are resources on campus that can help them,” Sturdivant said.

The Health and Wellness Center will be putting on other events throughout the year, including a Coffee with Counselors event.