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CLT Magazine | SUMMER 2022
Mental Health Advocacy on Campuses Robbie Chulick
Assistant Dean of Students University of Virginia's College at Wise, rux3hp@uvawise.edu In late 2020, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that Campus Mental Health was the Number One Worry of all college presidents, outside of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only should campus mental health be a concern for college and university presidents, but it should also be something that Student Affairs and Campus Activities professionals should be aware and cognizant of as well. To support student leaders on campus, Ethan Fisher, a keynote speaker and mental health advocate, spoke to a variety of student leaders during his visit to The University of Virginia College at Wise (UVA Wise), in Wise, VA, and Union College, in Barbourville, KY to kick off the Spring Semester in January 2022.
Both institutions realized the importance of mental health on their respective college campuses and booked Ethan Fisher at the Fall 2021 Orlando Student Programming Conference. At UVA Wise, Ethan facilitated two different workshops, one for Resident Assistants (RA’s) and one for The Division II Spring Sport Athletes. In the session with 25 RA’s, he provided his Student Leaders a Mental Health Workshop. Nia Rogers, a resident assistant at UVA Wise, said “Ethan has made me more aware that my mental health plays a bigger impact in my day to day life than I realize. I’ve learned that talking to a professional about my mental state is the first step to seeking the help I need.” After meeting with the RA’s, he spent the afternoon with a variety of student athletes from Women’s Basketball, Men’s Basketball, and lacrosse teams. He discussed the 5 Keys to Student-Athlete success and instantly connected with those student athletes. As an advisor, it was amazing to see Ethan connect with students and the number of students that stayed after each one of his presentations to continue the conversation and to exchange further contact information. Mental Health is one of the primary focus areas right now in student affairs. We’ve added an additional full-time mental health counselor in our Counseling Office for the 22-23 academic year, but continued outreach and programming that Ethan Fisher provides to discuss mental health and wellbeing is just as important.
