Dark days, acceptance, treatment, coping strategies, success, hopes and dreams. It sounds like the five stages of finals week, but it’s all part of the conversation on mental health.
Tonight, Active Minds is presenting ‘In Our Own Voices,’ where two speakers will share their personal experiences dealing with a mental illness diagnosis while in college.
“This will help people develop empathy and reduce the stigma on mental illness,” senior and Active Minds President Amanda Textor said. “The speakers are college-aged, so it will be relatable.”
One of the two speakers is Theresa San Luis.
Born in Bourbonnais, Ill., San Luis graduated with honors as a music major from Interlochen Arts Academy boarding school near Traverse City, Mich. She went on to study at the University of Notre Dame, where she was first diagnosed with a thoughts disorder.
San Luis now serves as a speaker for the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ In Our Own Voice program. NAMI describes the In Our Own Voice event as “a unique public education presentation offered nationwide by hundreds of trained NAMI members who live with mental illness.”
According to its website, NAMI is an organization “dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness.”
“This is a personal testimony of success that many don’t hear about,” she said. “Many people suffer alone.”
The other speaker is Elizabeth Rajchart, a St. Louis native currently attending school at Meramec Community College.
“It’s really important for students who might have dealt with mental illness [to attend],” Billikens After Dark Assistant Alexandra Chapman said. “[The speakers] will be talking about how they’ve lived through their experiences and [will] be in a professional environment.”
Billikens After Dark is a late night, alcohol-alternative program at SLU, and is one of the cosponsors of this event.
This event is also going to be cosponsored by Great Issues Committee, Psi Chi, the School of Social Work, Department of Psychology and the Doerr Center for Social Justice.
The event is tonight at 7 p.m. in the Saint Louis Room. For more information about the event or SLU’s Active Minds chapter, email [email protected].
