We had the honor to meet each and every one the hosting chapters throughout this journey and it was our hope that we could somehow connect you to one another. We started the tour at James Madison University and we ended at Ohio State University. Because we didn’t have this whole chapter interview thing going on at our first display, we have invited JMU to wrap up this portion of the chapter interviews.

We know that so many of you have amazing and creative ideas and we want to encourage you to voice them. We hope that this inspires you to meet one another, to share and connect. Keep reaching out. Take advantage of the list serve and together with all of the passion each one of you has, you guys are going to come up with some amazing ideas to help Active Minds and your campuses.

Each and everyone of you is tied together because of an amazing cause. Thank you for letting us get to know you and for all that you do. Keep up the amazing work.

And now, James Madison University!

Liz Loveless, Senior

In response to Sean:

1. How has your work with Active Minds been received at JMU?

Our work has been received very well! Even though we are a very young chapter, we continue to grow each semester. Students are always curious about our work and eager to be involved. Overall our campus is very friendly and extremely active, so bringing active minds to campus has opened their eyes to a new opportunity and a new way to look at student involvement.

2. In a perfect world, how do you envision the mental health movement progressing in the years to come?

In a perfect world, I would want all people to understand that mental illness is on a spectrum, that all people have mental health but fall onto different places on the spectrum. Because it is a universal, we all must understand mental health in order to help others and ourselves.

3. What has been the best experience for your chapter at JMU?

The best experience has been hosting send silence packing and watching the response from students. Our campus had never experienced anything like the display, but the response was overwhelming. Students were shocked by the statistic and onterested in learning more. Many others felt is was a healing experience and time to commemorate a loved one. Overall, the display brought knowledge and understanding to the JMU campus.

Mary Anne Riley

In response to Paige:

1. How has active minds changed your outlook on mental health?

As a psychology major, I have always been interested in mental health, however being a part of Active Minds for the past year has opened up my eyes to the sad. yet realistic mental health statistics. Before joining Active Minds, I had no idea that 1,100 colleges students commit suicide each year, or that 25% of college aged women have binged and purged. However, Active Minds has more importantly taught me telling your story and raising awareness about mental health can change other people’s lives. Many people with mental illnesses believe that they are the only ones suffering and that they have no hope. Hearing someone’s story and how they dealt with their illness can inspire other people to recover or get help. Before joining Active Minds I never thought about how important the open conversation about mental health actually is for recovery.

2. What legacy would you like to leave on your chapter when you graduate?

I hope to leave a legacy of dedication and commitment to Active Minds. I feel that as an officer of Active Minds I was very passionate about the organization’s duty, and I hope that our future executives will also turn their passion towards mental illness into dedication to Active Minds.

3. Do you think Active Minds can really change the conversation about mental health? How?

Yes, I truly think that Active Minds can help change the conversation about mental health. The preconceived notions and stigmas surrounding mental illnesses can cause people to refrain from sharing their own stories. I think that Active Minds really does help reduce the stigma that surrounds mental illness simply by discussing mental health and raising awareness about the prevalence of mental health disorders that exist on college campuses. For example, that one student who was considering suicide could have walked past the send silence packing display at his or her school and realized that they weren’t alone and opt to seek help.

Vanessa Olson

In response to Neethi:

1. How do you gain membership on your campus?

I was a co-founder in Fall 2008

2. What was your favorite part about Send Silence Packing?

The impact it had on the students who did not know what was going on

3. How do you utilize the list-serv/google groups to communicate with
membership?

We use them to see you has signed up for certain responsibilities for various activities and events we hold on campus.