Mental Health Awareness Campaign | McDonogh School

Location: McDonogh School (Owings Mills, Maryland)
As part of Rollins-Leutkemeyer Leadership Programs
Status: Completed
Dates: Spring 2019

Quick Project Overview

Alongside two close peers, I co-led a school-wide mental health awareness initiative to address the lack of open dialogue and supportive spaces around wellbeing on campus. The project evolved into an annual tradition that continues to shape how the school community engages with mental health.

• Context & Background

  As part of our student leadership team’s community impact project, we identified a gap in conversations about mental health within our school culture. We wanted to create a collective effort that normalized care, vulnerability, and support—bringing attention to an issue that deeply affected our peers and community.

• Collaborators & Partners

  • Rollins-Leutkemeyer Leaders Scholarship Program

  • School administrators and counselors

• My Role & What We Did

  Together, we planned and facilitated a week of programming that included awareness campaigns, student panels, and partnerships with mental health professionals. We organized peer-led events, coordinated storytelling initiatives, and worked with administrators to advocate for more accessible resources and long-term institutional support.

• Outputs

  • Annual Mental Health Awareness Week

  • Peer support and storytelling campaign

  • Institutional funding for expanded mental health resources

  • State-level recognition for student leadership in wellbeing advocacy

Impact & Learnings

This experience taught me that change often begins with naming what’s missing. It showed me the power of youth leadership in shifting culture and inspired my commitment to systemic approaches to wellbeing.

What started as a small act of care among friends became a catalyst for lasting institutional change. Since the launch of this campaign, it has continued annually and led to increased institutional investment in expanding mental health services and support on campus.

In 2019, McDonogh became the first independent school in Maryland to participate in the Children’s Mental Health Matters (CMHM) initiative.