“Other people have it worse.”
“Stop being selfish.”
“Mental health isn’t a real thing.”
“What are you even depressed about?”
These are the weighty comments that people with a mental health disorder might hear at least once in their life from others in response to simply speaking up about their struggles. From a personal standpoint, I’ve heard these comments all too well being unfairly uttered to friends, family, and myself growing up. Being raised in Nairobi, Kenya from a young age, mental health was always a hushed topic of conversation. My friends, family and I grew up with the common African mindset that, instead of discussing our hardships and mental health struggles amongst one another, we must remain silent and deal with our pain alone. Anyone who tried to reach out to a mental health professional was met with harsh judgment and often labeled as “weak” or “crazy.” As a result of such stigma, along with lack of proper mental health facilities, has caused an epidemic crisis with Kenyans experiencing higher rates of poor mental wellbeing. From a personal standpoint, it’s hard seeing the young men and women in my country use alcohol and other drugs as a way to cope with stress and depression. It’s hard seeing families being unable to properly comfort one another through hardships. It’s hard having to watch the local news to hear how yet another friend, child, parent, sibling to someone commit suicide due to feeling such unimaginable mental pain and suffering. I always told myself that when I grew up, I needed to try to make a difference within my community from suffering any longer from mental health stigma by choosing to major in psychology to become a clinical psychologist.
The Schmid Memorial Scholarship would assist me greatly in achieving my goal of aiding individuals who encounter mental health struggles by helping lower my tuition cost as I transition to being a transfer student to a four-year university from a community college student this fall of 2024. It is of the utmost importance for me to work hard in my studies so I can strive to give back to people who struggle with their mental health with lack of support. In addition to this, after studying to get my bachelors, masters, and PHD in order to become a clinical psychologist, one day I would also return to Kenya to provide better access to mental health resources and reach out to those who have experienced mental health stigma in their communities to help them understand that they do not need to suffer alone. I want to help break the stigma of mental health as a weakness. By doing so, I hope to help Kenyans shift to being more open to seeking support, speaking with one another more comfortably about their struggles, and improving their mental health as a whole.
Johanna Acosta
I am Johanna, a Lee Early College Student ready to embark on her next journey at NC State to become a biomedical engineer. In my school, I dedicated the majority of my free time to volunteering. I participated events from in the Rise For Hunger event in my county’s rotary club, as I represent being the first Lee Early College Representative at my school and one of the National Honors Society office position members, to volunteering in events from local high schools. My motto has always been to never let go of any opportunity, big or small. If I see an opportunity, then I will take it as fast as I can and make the most out of it.I hope to create a better future for my family and the people who surround me. I grew up in a family that migrated to the United States without any advanced education, only a high school diploma. My parents have shown me how they made the best of what they had, I make it my goal to expand on their accomplishments and create a better path for my little sister. My passion revolves around learning, I believe we have access to many resources to expand our knowledge. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity there is today and I am ready to make the most of it.
My education is important to me. I envision expanding my education as much as I can, resulting in a master's degree. With my education completed, I will be able to release my biomedical designs. I hope to have a career in engineering where I can create medically needed equipment for the world. I strive to not only create beneficial objects but to make them accessible. In many countries, medical needs are a luxury, they are viewed as not necessary. The world will not feel guilty about getting necessities if we make medical equipment affordable. It will be my job and many future biomedical engineers’ jobs to make sure we create objects using affordable materials. I am an advocate for learning, I will enjoy learning about topics that will lead to me helping many. I will use my education and everything I collect from my journey to benefit those around me.
I am optimistic, regardless of my financial situation I will make sure I get my education. With this scholarship, I can make plans to continue my education and let go of the worry of juggling school and work. For this upcoming school year, I plan on working. My course schedule can run from eight in the morning to seven in the afternoon. The scholarship can help me reduce hours of work, I will not have to think much about meal plans and book costs. I am grateful for everything that I have, I am honored to have a reliable job during this school year. Thank you for considering me, your help is greatly appreciated by students everywhere.
