Approximately 39% of college students do not complete degrees due to mental health struggles. With 45% of college students dealing with mental health, the need for accessible resources and community support becomes urgent.
On Thursday, March 19 from 11:00 a.m to 2:30 p.m, students gathered in the Habitat for the Mission Kindness Mental Health Fair. The fair brought together student organizations and community members to raise mental health awareness, offering a day of education, connection, activities and giveaways for attendees.
Joey Zieman, outreach coordinator for Mission Kindness, initially created this event while working for Oakland University’s Student Program Board. After a brief discontinuation of the event, Zieman brought back the fair after joining the board of Mission Kindness.
Mission Kindness aimed to combine mental health education with engaging opportunities for attendees.
“We have several stations at the event with free items you can sit down and work on, such as stone painting and coloring pages,” Zieman said. “We also have a volunteering opportunity where people can help out Growing Grizzlies by volunteering their time to decorate bags that they’d use to sell fruits and vegetables in the fall.”
A long list of notable Oakland University organizations were present at the fair, including Oakland University’s Women’s soccer team, Oakland University’s Counseling Center, Psi Chi and more.
“The reason why I wanted to bring so many groups from all around campus together is to show that everyone has their own ways of dealing with mental health,” Zieman said.
Bailey Giddings, a junior on the women’s soccer team, emphasized the importance of mental health awareness for everyone, including athletes. Athletes often struggle to balance schedules between work, school and sports, increasing stress.
“We’re really passionate about mental health here on campus, but as athletes it adds another layer,” Giddings said. “Having the added stress of sports can be hard, especially when we don’t have very much time during the day.”
Oakland University’s chapter of Psi Chi, promoted mental health to the community, educating students on mental health management techniques. Sophia Vecchi, a member of Psi Chi, offered students worksheets for stress management, mindfulness and grounding techniques.
“Being able to use resources and have techniques to lower stress, anxiety and depression is important for mental health, especially for college students,” Vecchi said.
Ula Tuskenyte, an intern for the Oakland University Counseling Center, staffed a table at the fair to educate students about the resources offered by the counseling center. The counseling center hopes to increase mental health awareness through outreach and education.
“Each student gets four free counseling sessions on campus, which not everyone is aware of,” Tuskenyte said.
Zieman emphasized the importance of mental health awareness, noting that many deal with mental health.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re an athlete, fully at Oakland University for academics, or involved in an organization,” Zieman said. “Everyone deals with mental health in one way, shape or form.”
The Mission Kindness Mental Health Fair fostered awareness by prioritizing community outreach and education, while also working to destigmatize conversations surrounding mental health and encourage students to seek support and use available resources.
