What a year it has been. I am so happy with how far NAMI@Emma has come in its first year, and am even more excited to see what next year will hold for the club and its expansion to other schools.
I reflected in my previous blog post on my Signature presentation, but will again mention how I was inspired by some of the questions to improve my project by perhaps developing a way to quantify stigma, and thus develop a way to measure the effectiveness of certain NAMI@Emma programs. In terms of the challenges I faced, I would certainly say that the biggest one I faced was simply that I did not have enough time, enough team members, funding, etc. to do everything I wanted with the club. I think we did extremely well with what we had though, and am excited to see if we may be able to get funding from the school next year. My proudest moment from the project was probably the culmination of many small events when students and faculty would compliment the work NAMI@Emma was doing. Small, personal affirmation like this were very inspiring and heart-warming. Now, if I could give a future Signature student advice, I would recommend being flexible. Your project will probably not be the same or similar at all to your original idea, and perhaps that is a good thing. I’ve come to believe that the natural evolution of ideas produces the best product possible, and even though you may be hesitant to let go of your original idea, your core belief may be better suited with another project. Furthermore, I would hope that people would carve out a significant part of their schedule for their Signature. I certainly think running NAMI@Emma and doing my Signature was the most rewarding part of my year, and if I had perhaps made my schedule even more jam packed the club would not have been as successful. This is related to the fact that Signature is what you make of it, and that the program provides a great framework to work from and a good support system, but it still requires hard work. Originally I was going to do a STEAM Internship and run NAMI@Emma on the side. I am so happy that instead the year worked out so that I could invest all of my time into NAMI@Emma. There is little I would change about this year, and am thankful for the Signature program and its support.
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What a month! Here are some of the highlights:
April has been a whirlwind month, but in the best sense of the word.
The club was thrilled to have NAMI NYS members, including executive director Wendy Burch, come in to talk with us about other NAMI NYS programs such as Breaking the Silence, and the upcoming NAMI Walk in September. I also had the wonderful opportunity to go in and speak with many members of the NYS Office of Mental Health, including commissioner Ann Sullivan. I was so pleasantly surprised at how much they cared about the club and truly believed that it should spread to other schools. I really cannot fully express my gratitude for their kindness and generosity with their time and advice. It was good practice for me to be asked questions about the club and for presenting, which I hope will help me for my Signature presentation! The OMH also said they would be happy to right a letter of support for the club, which I believe could help tremendously in spreading the club to other schools. I also was notified this month that NAMI@Emma would be receiving a What's Great In Our State award for Children's Mental Health from the OMH.The awards ceremony is Tuesday, May 3rd. Lastly, I was ecstatic to learn that I was accepted to the ANNPower fellowship program for 2016-17, which begins with a leadership seminar in New York City from June 14th-17th. What makes me the happiest about this acceptance is that last year I was rejected, I believe in part due to my lack of a concrete idea about how to combat stigma and enhance mental health education. I am excited that they see the promise in the NAMI@Emma model, and hope to learn many skills I can use in club meetings and in spreading the club. |
Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all. -Bill Clinton
Katherine WallaceEmma Willard Class of 2017. Archives
May 2017
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