Growing up, I never truly understood what mental health meant because it was rarely discussed at home or school. My family never saw mental health as “real” since they grew up in an environment where financial stability was always the priority. As a result, I was always scared to talk about mental health with them. Additionally, the school I attended lacked mental health resources for students. However, this later changed because of the neighborhood I grew up in. My family and I lived in an area with high crime rates, where we were one of the few Chinese families that operated a Chinese restaurant. In sixth grade, I started helping at the restaurant and had to learn how to navigate racist comments and difficult interactions. While living in this environment was challenging, it also sparked my passion for mental health. I attended a local adolescent support group during my sophomore year of high school. That experience opened my eyes to the limited mental health resources available to people in underrepresented communities. There, I met a girl who shared her experience at a psychiatric hospital, describing how poorly the staff treated her. I was shocked—a system designed to help people had instead made her feel worse. Her story motivated me to join my school’s speech club. Although I feared public speaking, I saw it as an opportunity to raise awareness about this issue on a larger scale. I competed in various tournaments, including a national competition in Chicago. While I didn’t always place as highly as I had hoped, feedback from judges—such as, “This really touched me because I have a similar experience with my own child, and I applaud you for speaking about it”—only strengthened my passion and reinforced the impact I could make. Soon after, I helped co-found the Mental Health Attention Club at my school, leading a team of advocates in projects such as a Mental Health Resource Fair. We also manage a website, an Instagram page (@phila_mha), and a podcast to promote mental health education. In Fall 2025, I plan to attend Haverford College and major in psychology, to become a clinical psychologist. In college, I hope to engage in research and internships that will expand my knowledge and allow me to make a greater impact. Additionally, I want to start a podcast where I can interview various individuals to foster more conversations around mental health. Ultimately, by becoming a clinical psychologist, I hope to make mental health care more accessible in underserved communities. I also aspire to visit schools in these communities to provide mental health education—something I never had. I hope to be a source of strength and support for those who feel alone in their struggles. Thank you for this opportunity and for taking the time to read my essay. I, too, hope to one day create a scholarship to support higher education as I believe that everyone deserves the same opportunities.

I didn’t understand mental health until high school, as it was rarely discussed at home or in school. It wasn’t until I heard a story from a girl at an adolescent support group that I realized how disconnected mental health care can be from the needs of BIPOC communities. She shared how, after being admitted to a psychiatric hospital, she was mistreated by the staff. This is why I want to major in psychology, eventually becoming a clinical psychologist and creating more affordable and accessible mental health care, especially in BIPOC communities. I hope to achieve this by advocating for policy changes, as they can lead to more funding for mental health care. In addition, I plan to speak out about mental health in schools, organizations, and other settings, so others can join this advocacy journey and understand the urgent need for affordable and accessible mental health care. I also intend to collaborate with other mental health organizations and organize events, such as walk/run fundraisers, to raise money for places that provide mental health care. Today, there is still a stigma surrounding mental health. However, if we talk about it more, we can help people see the true reality of mental health and understand that it is a real and important issue. Mental health care should be affordable and accessible to everyone, regardless of their background. In the end, mental health care should not be a privilege but a right.