Taylor Adams
On the weekend of November 15th, several of the officers of Active Minds club attended the Tenth Annual National Active Minds Conference. The trip was open and free for all club members. The event took place at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Club members from all over the country were in attendance. The national organization represents over 400 chapters that share the common goal of raising awareness about mental health issues among college students. Attendees had their pick on a variety of activities from workshops to speakers to singers. On the first day, one fellow member and I attended an interactive leadership seminar. The speaker running the program was an incredibly humble and welcoming person. She radiated confidence and life. Later on, we discovered that she is currently recovering from an eating disorder and depression. Her story touched many and reminded us why we were carrying out this mission. We learned a myriad of skills and tips as well as life lessons.
The day was concluded with the annual Stomp Out Stigma Walk which represented putting an end to harmful titles attached to people because of their differences. We were given our choice of color glow stick. The color we chose was symbolic for the reasons we were participating in the walk: for a friend, for a family member, for yourself, to change the world. The following day consisted of more insightful workshops about club recruitment and retention and fundraising tactics to keep the clubs running strong. The third day we were introduced to the Strangers Project. The founder Brandon explained his global work of collecting strangers’ stories. It started with him simply sitting in a coffee shop with a large sign that read, “What’s your story?” He sparked people’s attention and has acquired over 7000 stories around the world. This inspired us to start something similar in the Stockton community. All in all, the trip was an incredible experience that opened our eyes to new opportunities and perspectives that we can utilize at Stockton in reaching our ultimate goal.