Project Overview

This work builds on my experience developing the Pelican Pocket: Mental Health Toolkit at Loomis. Inspired by a project I encountered through my research at Cha Lab at Yale, I spent the past two terms designing a pocket-sized, customizable mental health resource for students with the support of Ms. Carr and Dean Hathorn. 

 It is planned to be implemented in dorms this spring and incorporated into sophomore seminars starting this fall, as well as expanded in CT with public libraries!

At Loomis, where the drive to excel never really quiets, even after lights out, having a pocket-sized Mental Health Support Toolkit isn’t just practical. It’s a necessity. Personally, I learned this the hard way: during freshman year, I reached a stage where I was hyperventilating. My parents were half a world away, and I had nothing to ground me but my own panic. At that point, I wasn’t sure if I wanted friends at Loomis to help, since I had only known them for a term, and my old friends were so far away. I did go to counseling, but what really helped were small things: meditation videos, and tangible reminders like my stuffed animal from home. Now, I’ve grown. I know my resources—close friends here, family back home, counseling, stress balls, cooking with friends. And I’ve learned a lot from being an ISA, an intern in the Cha Lab @ Yale, talking to professionals (and finding out about the pocket-sized support resource by Selin Kelly), reading and doing research, and just being really involved with youth mental health.