Campus Hosts Mental Health Happenings

By: Sophie Ma and Catherine Wu

Recently, students at the Academy came together to host events around campus in support of mental health. Events included lacrosse games for Morgan’s Message as well as free boba and succulents provided by the Mental Health Committee. 

The boys’ and girls’ Varsity Lacrosse games for Morgan’s Message occurred on April 27 and saw a great turnout. The boba and succulent event, organized by Student Council’s Mental Health Committee, successfully commenced the next day on April 28.

Members of the girls’ varsity lacrosse team discussed the purpose behind the Morgan’s Message. “Morgan’s Message is a mental health organization intended to raise awareness and end the stigma surrounding mental health in athletics,” upper Emilie Dubiel said. “It was created after the tragic death of Morgan Rodgers in 2019 by her friends and family to honor her life and try to help others who may be going through the same thing Morgan did.”

Lower and member of the girls’ varsity lacrosse team Annika Finelli continued, “Morgan’s Message strives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community and equalize the treatment of physical and mental health in athletics.”

“Mental health is something that is talked about a lot when it comes to academics,” Finelli said. “But before Morgan’s message I felt as though I never really heard about it in a sports setting.”

Dubiel, an organizer of the event, shared the planning processes. “We started planning the Morgan’s Message dedication game this winter. After finding a home game that would work, we coordinated with New Hampton (our opponent for the games) and organized shirts to wear during our warmups.”

“Coach Breen had some great banners made and Keighley Bosshardt [a lower on the team] coordinated with the organization to get stickers and pamphlets that we could pass out. We also planned a booth to be held in Grill all morning with volunteers from the boys and girls varsity teams to help run it,” Dubiel continued.

“It was so cool to see the teams come together, and I think everything was super successful,” Dubiel said. “Going into it, my main goal was to help spread awareness surrounding the topic and organization, and I feel like that was accomplished.”

The event had a great turnout and was well organized by the two teams. “Between the varsity boys’ and girls’ team, we split up time slots to run the [info] booth, printed flyers with information on Morgan’s Message, and collected donations,” Finelli said.

Coach Christina Breen agreed that the event was very successful. “Seven students from the girls’ and boys’ varsity lacrosse teams worked to organize the info table in Agora. I was also able to get donations from some supportive alumni parents to have T-shirts made for both the Exeter teams and the New Hampton teams [we played]. It was a true show of unity.”

Students noted how mental health is an important aspect of students’ lives at Exeter. “Mental health is important to me because I think especially at Exeter, students tend to put their academic and athletic goals ahead of their mental health. I think by promoting the importance of mental health, more people will understand that it’s not something to be ashamed of or shy away from,” Dubiel said.

“I think there is a lot of pressure put on high level athletes to push through injuries and other health related things,” Finelli added. “It’s important to recognize that everyone deserves to receive support when it comes to things like this, especially when trying to balance athletics and academics. Both can be very demanding.”

Other members of the team commented on the game itself. “The game was really good,” upper Abegail Byun said. “We all had matching shirts, so it was really cool to see our team and their team all wearing the same shirt [to support the cause] even though we were competing that day.”

Byun continued to share the team’s efforts towards addressing mental health. “I think our coach is very understanding and we have great captains who we could reach out to. We have buddy systems on the team, so everyone has a buddy, and I think that makes it really easy to reach out to people and check in with your friends, even those that you aren’t the closest to,” Byun said.

Breen has made it a priority to ensure athletes are taking care of themselves. “Every day we pause at the start of practice and meditate for two minutes, centering ourselves and releasing stress. We [also] have partnered with Morgan’s Message and have taken the time to read their materials, learning how to manage stress. [Additionally,] we have partnered with CAPS to talk about ways to support injured players who might feel like they have lost a sense of joy and identity,” Breen added.

Outside of the sports realm, Mental Health Committee organizers discussed the planning for the boba and succulent event. “Mental Health Committee Directors Amber Zou and Atishay Jain really led the planning for this event,” organizer and senior Max Park said. “Mr. Thompson and Dr. Lee also offered their guidance and support as faculty advisors. Although, the original idea for this event came out of discussions we had with the class of 2024 reps last summer.”

“The plants were from Cymbidium and the boba from Mr. Wish, both BIPOC owned businesses,” lower Amber Zou added.

“Collaboration is key in an event like this,” lower Atishay Jain said. “Working together to plan an event which has the potential to bring the entire Exeter community together is truly something that means a lot to me.”

The event ultimately saw a great turnout. “The boba was so great,” lower Rohan Radhakeesoon said. “It was very refreshing on a Thursday morning. The plants were nice, and they did a really great job planning this event.”

“I love my succulent,” lower Jack Hutchins agreed. “It makes me feel happy when I look at it. I’m very appreciative of this event.”

The Mental Health Committee co-heads shared a little about their goals in planning this event. “We wanted to have a fun social event where students could enjoy music and boba and also adopt a cute plant,” Zou explained. “Simple things like this that bring our students together can definitely help campus mental health. I think our goals were definitely achieved.”

Jain echoed Zou’s sentiment. “When I think of an event like this where we can give out plants like succulents, it’s very therapeutic and something you can do with your friends in a chill way. It’s almost like the mug-painting events earlier this year which had a great turn out.”

Zou also explained a little about why mental health is so important to her. “As someone who suffers/suffered with mental health challenges, I can empathize with those who may be going through their own battles while also balancing the rigor of Exeter. I truly want to make a change on this campus for the better.”

“We wanted to do something that would bring the community together and encourage self-care during spring midterms,” Park said in agreement. “Spring term can often be the hardest when it comes to burnout and pulling through the year. We thought that plants would give students a little something to brighten up their room — taking a moment each day to care for and water a plant can also enhance a nice self-care routine.”

Many students who attended the Mental Health Committee’s event shared positive experiences. “I had a really fun time on Thursday at the event,” upper Ming Thompson said. “I loved the boba and the succulent is now in my room. There were a lot of students there and it was fun to talk to friends.”

Other students commented about their succulents. “The succulent is actually in my dorm now. It looks nice and is very pleasing,” prep Davido Zhang said.

Students also discussed their opinions on the Academy’s resources for supporting students’ mental health. “I think the Academy could definitely be doing more. We don’t get enough time off to just relax and fun events where students can just enjoy themselves have been scarce this year,” upper Jesalina Phan said.

On the other hand, students also noted that recent student-planned events have been great destressors, such as the boba and succulent event, Soul Fest, Hot Wings Battle, as well as Relay for Life. “Going to these events has been a great escape from school and workload in general,” Thompson said. “I’m happy that we don’t have any Saturday classes left this term as well.”

“I hope there are more future events to support students’ mental health,” Radhakeesoon concluded. “Many students face academic burn out during spring term, and having these small events really alleviates stress and reminds us of the importance of mental health.”