CMI Annual Report 2023-2024

CMI Projects
CMI Projects
Empowering Voices: Stories of
Resilience from ‘Loving Our Minds’
Mental Health Event
By Jennifer Szweda Jordan
When Keith Paylo began his career in higher education
three decades ago as the Vice President of Student
Affairs and Dean of Students, mental health was not a
priority for universities and colleges. Recognizing this gap,
Paylo wholeheartedly endorsed the “Loving Our Minds”
mental health event organized by All-Abilities Media in
collaboration with the Center for Media Innovation in
September 2022.
The event brought together news media leaders,
producers, students, therapists, and various others who
graced the university ballroom stage to provide reliable
information about mental illness and health. The aim was
to normalize conversations around these crucial topics,
catering to a diverse audience while focusing on the
experiences of underserved populations.
Participants of the “Loving Our Minds” event listen in on speakers
presenting at the event. Photo by Jennifer Szweda Jordan.
10
‘Loving Our Minds’ graphic provided by Jennifer Szweda Jordan
During the event, a thought-provoking video produced by
Willy James, titled “VOICES: Mental Health and the Black
Community,” was showcased. In the video, social worker
Sharise Nance emphasized the importance of seeking
therapy for the Black community, acknowledging the
profound impact of trauma on its members. “Trauma is in
the DNA of Black people, so we just cannot afford to not
seek therapy moving forward,” she said.
Junior Anna Skeels took the stage to present a shadow
play that depicted their personal journey as a queer
individual, incorporating heartbreaking statistics from
an annual Trevor Project study on LGBTQIA+ youth. The
statistics revealed alarming figures, such as 45% of
LGBTQ youth seriously considering suicide in the past year.
In another impactful video feature, Madison Gasper, a
sophomore art major, shared her experience with mental
illness and her mother’s addiction through stunning selfportraits.
Gasper’s art portrayed her struggles, including
her high anxiety, stress, and difficulty managing her
OCD at the time. By painting a canvas black and adding a
feathered mask, she visually expressed the pain and relief
she felt during that period. “I just had it covering my face,
because it just felt like, at the time, I was just surrounded
by all this pain and the high anxiety and stress that I had
from OCD that I wasn’t managing very well at the time,”
she said in the video. “And then so just in making that
portrait, and then just being able to step back and look at
it, I just–I really did feel that relief of just seeing how I felt at
the time.”
Will Halim from StoryBurgh and mental health editor
and therapist Mary Beth Spang discussed the power of
personal narratives in addressing mental illness. They
encouraged individuals to journal their experiences as a
means of self-expression and healing.
Although the event primarily aimed to support students
who were still grappling with the aftermath of the
pandemic, the information shared is valuable for anyone.
The entire event video and a collection of news media
reporting and essays on mental health remain available
online.
The “Loving Our Minds” event received substantial
support from the Staunton Farm Foundation. Additional
contributions came from the university’s Office of
Student Life, the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park
University, Allegheny Health Choices, Inc., and Unabridged
Press.
11