Augie NAMI is nationally recognized for its hard work

Augie NAMI, Augustana College's student-led mental health club, is receiving national recognition for promoting mental wellness among students. Members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) staff said they have noticed the growth of Augie NAMI over the years and wanted to feature the club experience in a promotional video.

"This is our first promotional video for NAMI on campus," said Kaite Waecheter, manager of media production for NAMI. "Augustana is one of the very first schools that we've come to campus to film for this program. And we're really excited that Augustana is part of our pilot."

Augie NAMI decided to highlight its "Taco About Mental Health" event for the promo video. The event challenges students to answer mental health trivia questions for a chance to win a popular “walking taco” from Dining Services.

Farrah Roberts, Augustana’s assistant dean and director of student well-being and resiliency, is staff advisor for Augie NAMI. She has more than 20 years of experience in the mental health field. Roberts said the "Taco About Mental Health" event helps reveal results creatively.

"We want to reinforce the idea that this isn't just about having food and getting some free swag, but also learning how many students actually care and are interested in the topic," Roberts said. "On each of the tables that are here, there are statistics and different messages of hope, and really, we just want students to know they're not alone.”

Augie NAMI was formed on Augustana's campus in 2018 and became a nationally affiliated chapter with NAMI in 2022. The club is based on offering peer support, which means students who have had a personal experience overcoming a mental challenge help their peers overcome theirs. Augie NAMI meets every Monday from 6-7 p.m. in Hanson 128 and welcomes all students to stop in and share their story.

Zoey Snell '26, vice president of Augie NAMI, has been involved in the club since her first semester. She will take over in December once the current president, Maya Doss '25, graduates. Snell said at least 20 students attend weekly meetings. She wants to promote the club more and see attendance grow.

"A lot of people are scared of the topic of mental health nowadays, and I want to reduce the stigma surrounding it," said Snell. “My experience has been really good. I've been able to talk with people about my experience of mental health and their experience of mental health and share commonalities."

Doss, who's been involved with Augie NAMI for the past four years, said the club has helped her as well. "When I came to campus, I wanted to find a group that was supportive and a peer support group, and NAMI was just right there and a really good fit," said Doss.

"I personally struggle with depression and social anxiety," she added. "I have been struggling with those since I was around 10, 11 years old, and have been going through a long journey and process of kind of trying to manage it and figure it out. But I'm at a better place now."

As another way to urge students to utilize peer mental health support, Augustana's Director of Counseling Services Bill Iavarone created the Peer Support Recovery program. The program focuses helping students who don't want to see a professional therapist but want to discuss their mental challenges in a safe space.

"This is the first time that we're going to have intentional people trained to engage students who have been identified as struggling with their mental health, emotional health, even academics," said Iavarone. "We're training the students in January, and then around February, we're going to start deploying them."

The Augustana community believes in helping students in ways that give the most benefit, including offering resources that make a difference. Roberts said being featured in a national promo video is not a small accomplishment, given the club's hard work.

"I don't even think they realize how huge it is, but this was a selection process," she said. "They were selected just based on the many years that they've been involved. They email and respond and collaborate with the national NAMI regularly. We've had campus visits from them. If they need us, we respond. Because of that, we were offered this opportunity."

Roberts said that she hopes the video leads to more visibility and interest for Augie NAMI.