EVE CREVOSHAY: WRITING A BETTER FUTURE FOR MENTAL HEALTH IN GAMES

BY JOCEE HOLLADAY

Once upon a time, in the magical realm of STEM, there lived a woman named Eve Crevoshay Now, Crevoshay's journey through the mystical lands of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics was anything but ordinary You see, instead of embarking on this adventure armed with a degree in one of those fields, she wielded the power of literature and nonprofit experience!

Upon graduating college with degrees in English & American Literature, Crevoshay wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her career. “When I left college, I was pretty [sure] I wanted to do good in the world,” she says,

Eve Crevoshay but that was her only goal. Crevoshay accepted her first job post-graduation as an executive assistant at a nonprofit organization, Project Zero Here, a mentor helped Crevoshay realize her vital skill set for grant writing “He said to me, ‘You’re really good at translating grant opportunities into work I think you’d be good at grant writing ’ I had no idea what I was going to do; I had always been a writer and got a degree in English, so I knew this was a skill that I had,” she shares

Following her sage mentor’s advice, Crevoshay secured a rare, entry-level grant writing job, which marked the humble beginnings to an epic career. As Crevoshay navigated through her professional path, Crevoshay worked in various roles for several nonprofit organizations. Some positions resonated with her, while others left her uninspired. Before finding a job she truly loved, Crevoshay was doing work she didn’t like. However, in a bold move, she decided to quit her job, a decision she now recalls with laughter as she emphasizes the profound impact of unexpected choices “I just want people to know how random things can be impactful to your story It’s never a straight line,” she affirms

With newfound freedom, Chevoshay took on a role working as a consultant writing grants for Take This, a nonprofit that provides mental health resources to video game makers and players. “I came into an organization and an industry that I knew a fair amount about, but without any direct experience. [Even so, I] had real care for the issues related to mental health and games, and knowledge on how to run a nonprofit organization,” she explains. In a surprising twist, Crevoshay was granted a promotion of epic proportions after a mere three months of consulting. She ascended to the role of Executive Director, assuming a position of power and influence within Take This. For the past five years, Crevoshay has stood at the forefront of the industry-wide initiative to improve mental health in the gaming world

When asked about her remarkable transition into the gaming industry without a formal STEM background or experience in the field, she shrugged and revealed her secret: “You have to play to your strengths What I learned over time was to identify what those strengths were and capitalize on them as much as possible.” Crevoshay knew she was good at running nonprofits and was passionate about helping people with a stroke of fate, her role at Take This perfectly combined these two things.

As the Executive Director, Crevoshay has a lot of say in the direction of the nonprofit. “This is the place where I can help people in the moment with mental health needs. I can also [have] big picture conversations about really big ideas, like how we talk about accountability and repair in the game industry rife with gender-based harm. I can also talk about addressing online harassment and extremist behavior, and scary disinformation and misinformation because this is a place where that happens, and I can decide that is worth our time,” she remarks. As such, Take This’ current initiative is battling the terrorism and disinformation found in gaming communities Alongside other organizations, Take This was awarded an impressive grant from the Department of Homeland Security to do this work

In addition to battling terrorism, Take This is a leader in industry research. Take This became the first organization to quantify the adverse effects of grind and crunch cultures, a malady that plagues the gaming industry and numerous other industries. “Crunch culture is physically and mentally harmful,” Crevoshay observes. Not only is crunch culture bad for employees, but employers also fall victim: “There is a point of diminishing returns when you are too burned out and tired You start to do bad work without even realizing it, and that creates more work for you down the line ”

Using Take This’ research, Crevoshay practices what she preaches Embracing a philosophy distinct from the elusive work-life balance, Crevoshay encourages her employees to immerse themselves fully in their respective domains and practice work-life separation. “Work-life separation is different from work-life balance. Balance is really hard to achieve,” she states. Instead, when employees are at work, they are encouraged to focus solely on their work; when employees are at home, they are told to focus exclusively on home.

In Take This’ 10-year history, the nonprofit has reached extraordinary heights, touching the lives of tens of thousands of game makers and players through its mental health programs and partnerships with over 40 game studios Their influence has extended to many realms within the gaming sector; in addition to publishing research, the organization provides industry consulting and education on the importance of mental health for employees and players.

Take This is dedicated to improving the safety of the gaming community, and Crevoshay believes this starts with the game makers: “We can’t solve the problem without making better games And we can’t make better games without hiring more diverse people ”

Let us celebrate the extraordinary tale of Crevoshay a testament to the fact that individuals who bring their diverse backgrounds, passions, and skills to the table enrich the realms of STEM. The abilities she developed by attaining writing degrees and a career in the nonprofit world have given her the unique skill set required to make lasting, impactful changes for people in the gaming industry and community The work of Crevoshay and other leaders is paying off You will undoubtedly witness signs of improvement if you cast your gaze on the gaming industry as either a game maker or a player