Student Feature
ALUMNI NEWS MAGAZINE | Summer 2022
Michelle Addy (BA’22), Yelena Birk, Holly McLaughlin and Mallory Murphy (C-INI’18, BPHIL’19) served as positive mental health coordinators with UNB Counselling Services. Each student worked on a mental health research project intended to create a more positive, inclusive and safe learning environment for all.
“These students have unique experiences and perspectives from around the campus community, and they’ve come up with incredible ideas,” says Matt MacLean (MEd’10, BA’04), mental health strategist at UNB. “[They worked] with Counselling Services to help research, innovate and generate new ideas to better serve mental health needs on campus. [We] also provided students with valuable experience working in the mental health field, which can be hard to come by.”
The placements were coordinated through the Arts Internship Program, a for-credit internship for upper-level students that places them with local non-profit organizations and community partners. Although UNB Counselling Services and the faculty of arts have collaborated in the past, this is the first time this particular internship is being offered.
“The students get an amazing experience and education out of it, but they also get to really contribute to campus life. They get to do something and see it take effect right before their eyes.”
Michelle and Mallory studied the experiences of international students and how they perceive mental health and access support services. Michelle, an international student, and Mallory, a domestic student, worked together to create a comprehensive outreach strategy.
“We [wanted] to provide a platform for these students to openly share what mental health means to them so that we can better serve their needs, which are very likely different from those of domestic students,” says Mallory.
“This internship [gave] me the opportunity to apply my academic skills to a real-world setting and to help international students like myself better adjust to a foreign setting such as studying in a university abroad,” says Michelle.
Yelena assessed what role social media plays in promoting positive mental health services and conversations on campus. She says she’s used to living in an online world, coming to UNB from Israel, where the population emphasizes the use of technology. Her goal is to promote positive mental well-being and highlight resources.
“This opportunity is a dream come true,” Yelena says. “It’s a chance to apply all my knowledge in real life. I’m able to use what I’m studying and my experiences to make a difference.”
Holly’s research focused on test anxiety. She designed a cognitive behavioural therapy group-based treatment model that could be implemented next year. The UNB Student Accessibility Centre was also involved in the project, as many of the accommodations they provide support students with test anxiety.
“Education often relies heavily on testing and anxiety can be very detrimental to a student’s grades, which we want to alleviate,” she says. “Through this collaboration, the Student Accessibility Centre will also benefit and hopefully see a reduction in accommodation requests.”
UNB Saint John psychology honours student Kaydie Surette (BA’19) created a safe and inclusive space for students to open up about their struggles with mental health through Kreating Conversations.
In the early months of 2019, Surette started Kreating Conversations with her friend Kourtney Creamer, who was a strong advocate for mental health services. In April 2019, Kourtney passed away due to pneumonia complications and, to honour her legacy, Surette continued to pursue their newly founded organization and spread awareness of mental health illness.
“It was Kourtney’s idea to start an organization surrounding advocacy for mental health on campus,” says Kaydie. “Kourtney believed that the importance of having such an organization will allow students who may be struggling to be able to feel more accepted and be more open with their mental health struggles.”
Kreating Conversations is a student-led group focused on normalizing conversations about mental health and mental illness. Some initiatives include Wellness Wednesdays,
Care to Share, where students can anonymously post stories, and mental health “sounds and stories” events.
“With COVID-19 causing people to experience prolonged loneliness, it is important to stay together as a university and let everyone know it’s okay to talk about what they are going through.”
In high school, Kaydie struggled with mental health issues. Since the launch of Kreating Conversations, she has been able to alleviate her own struggles and find joy in offering a listening ear to help her peers feel comfortable sharing their stories.
“Having mental health initiatives be something I’m part of on a weekly basis allows me to better cope with my thoughts and feelings when they arise and that is why it’s so important to be part of this organization,” says Kaydie. “I want to let students know that it’s okay to not be okay, but it is also possible to learn to cope with issues and to never feel as though nobody is supporting you, because we executives at Kreating Conversations care and want everyone to know there is hope.”
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