In first grade a new kid joined our class from Iran. He couldn’t speak English. I saw how poorly he was being treated by everyone else and I wanted to be his friend. I started with little things like eating lunch with him. Even though we couldn’t speak the same language we had an instant connection. I really wanted to talk to him, so I bought a Farsi dictionary. Using the dictionary he would teach me Farsi and I would help him with his English. We found out we had common interests and slowly became best friends.
When my fifth grade teacher elected me to the Pride team I was surprised. Members of the Pride team led weekly school rallies and community events. I didn’t know how to be a leader at such a young age. Through encouraging others to participate in school events I tried to make them feel included. Being a part of the Pride team and reaching out to include other students made me realize that I could have a positive impact on students who were having trouble fitting in.
These experiences inspired me to reach out to other students in high school. In sophomore year, I applied to become a member of the MVHS Ambassadors, a group of students dedicated to fostering acceptance and inclusiveness.As part of my responsibilities, I gave virtual tours to transfer students and tutored ELD students. But because of the virtual setting I wasn’t sure that I was connecting with them. So when I came back to in-person school in junior year I wanted to make sure the connections I made were meaningful. I gave tours to students from all around the world. Many of these students were from South America and I would practice my Spanish with them in order to make them feel more comfortable. Building connections with students from different countries is really important to me since my best friend also struggled with adjusting to a new country. I always try to treat the new students like I treated my best friend.
The challenges of continuing sophomore year in a virtual setting made me realize the need to build a stronger community. That year two students who I looked up to committed suicide. I am also affected by depression and anxiety myself. I wanted to make a difference by educating students about mental health. Since the pandemic, mental health issues for students have been on the rise and I knew that I wanted to help. After I was accepted into Ambassadors, I joined the wellness committee where I work on the Spartans Pause program as the leader of my committee. Every month, Spartans Pause gives students time to de-stress and relax from the high pressure environment of high school by providing a supportive space discussing mental health issues, relaxation techniques, and activities that promote positive mental health. I’m proud of the self-care activities that we lead, but more importantly, I am glad that students feel comfortable enough to talk to us as peers and that we’re able to connect them to mental health programs.
Another event that we organize through Ambassadors is the yearly Out of the Darkness Walk. The event gathers community members whose lives have been affected by mental health struggles. For me it is the most impactful event that we host since it can better our community by talking openly about mental health issues.
Helping people has opened up many paths in my life. I feel that by participating in Ambassadors I am doing my part in bettering my school community through destigmatizing mental health issues, offering resources to students, and giving students moments to take breaks from the stress of high school. By lowering the stigma of mental health in my community and creating a welcoming environment, I am working to create a more accepting and inclusive campus environment where everyone can feel valued and respected.