This year the essay competition was titled “Redesigning Student Wellness” The objective given to the students was to write an essay to move beyond just talking about the problem and start building the solution. We asked the students to provide innovative, practical, or visionary ideas on how their high school can become a national model for mental health support. We received approximately 40 submissions and were proud to award the top 7 submissions each with a $500 cash prize.

In addition we hosted a speaker from Minding Your Mind, a non profit organization dedicated to ending stigma and destructive behaviors associated with mental health issues, moving away from a crisis-based response to prevention through education.

Minding your Mind uses the power of storytelling to provide evidence-based education on mental health challenges to their audiences. There inspiring programs create safe communication spaces to discuss signs and symptoms often associated with mental health challenges and how to address them.