Marching for Mental Health
Elon Students are Taking “Steps Together” to Raise Mental Illness Awareness
This Saturday, the culmination of senior Kelly August’s leadership studies at Elon University will come to fruition with “Steps Together,” her senior Common Good Project as a Leadership Fellow.
“The project’s main mission is to round off all your experiences in leadership through the LEAD program and off-campus leadership, as well as your passions, to align them and bring them together while also leaving a lasting impression on the Elon community,” August said.
As an advocate for mental health and wellness, August decided to organize “Steps Together,” a walk for mental illness awareness.
“The idea of a walk just came about because it’s visible. People who are not participating on campus will see what this is all about,” August said. “It’s going to bring a lot of people together and show that [mental illness awareness] is important and we need to talk about it more.”
Having struggled with mental illness herself, August hopes that the walk will send a message of solidarity to those with mental illnesses, as well as a message of prevalence to the Elon community.
“I want to show that we need to talk about this, and I also want the university to realize how many students this affects, indirectly and directly,” August said. “Look how many people showed up on a Saturday morning to talk about something that is really difficult but so important.”
A year in the making, August’s march was a passionate but difficult project to undergo.
“I don’t think this should be a single-person job. For me, I think leadership is most effective when you’re collaborating with others,” August said. “What the LEAD program teaches us and the fellowship is that you need to learn to work with others to bring about effective change.”
August’s vision is being carried out with support from her partnerships with Elon’s Health and Wellness Department, Counseling Department, and Active Minds—a mental health organization on campus in which she is a member.
August hopes that her work at Elon and passion for mental health will help her build a future in education as a school counselor.
“It’s kind of a lofty idea but after all that experience and gaining an understanding of what students need, want and are struggling with, I want to reform the policy that goes behind funding the counseling departments at different schools,” August explained.
The walk will kick off Saturday morning at Iconic Plaza and lap a mile around campus, to be “as visible and as close to home as possible.” August hopes that the conversation “Steps Together” begins will continue beyond the walk, and advises students struggling with mental illness on campus to speak up.
“I think the first step is not admitting that you need help or anything, but just talking to someone—a friend, a professor, anyone. Just acknowledge what’s going on and what doesn’t feel right,” August said. “Then slowly realize ‘Okay, maybe I can go to the Counseling Department or go see a therapist at home.’ Just baby steps. It can be really uncomfortable and scary...but I think everything starts with a conversation.”