Mission Bay High’s Mediums of Mental Health team has expanded its outreach efforts to more students while also planning for its future longevity.
Last year, seven MBHS freshmen and sophomores took on the Aspen Challenge. It was a frenzied and hectic 8-week challenge to develop a response to solving one of society’s most difficult problems.
With guidance from biology teacher Echo Jacoway and English teacher Nathan Sheehy, the team consisting of Iris Brogan, Yemaya Bruce, Natalie Chen, Madison Davis, Tegan Grzyb, Matilda Meyer and Dylan Talarico-Smith designed an innovative approach for helping youth effectively navigate their mental health journey by creating a roap that connects them to resources to their wellness.
“We selected the name ‘The Mediums of Mental Health’ because we used the different mediums of art to help guide people through their mental health journey and lead them to resources for any issues they may be having,” said junior Iris Brogan. “We created two interactive murals, a website, an Instagram and several art-related activities as part of our solution.”
At the May 1, 2024 Aspen Challenge Solutions Showcase, the Mission Bay High team was awarded the People’s Choice Award and an additional $500 to continue their project for a second year.
Keeping their commitment to destigmatize conversations around mental health has been productive and revelatory.
“Mental health has always been important to me because I’ve seen both my peers and myself struggle without proper outlets for ,” said sophomore Maddy Davis. “It can be isolating and I wanted to be part of an effort to change that.
“Over the past two years, my perspective on destigmatization has shifted, especially in how young students approach the topic,” Davis said. “Their understanding is often simple, but incredibly genuine, and their reactions show how impactful these early conversations can be. Seeing that firsthand has reinforced how important it is to introduce mental health in a way that is both accessible and meaningful.”
Junior Matilda Meyer said this issue is common for most.
“I don’t think anyone has gone through high school without experiencing some kind of mental health issue,” Meyer said. “We’ve all felt anxious and stressed, especially now dealing with the rigorous (International Baccalaurate) diploma and all my extracurriculars, so paying attention to my mental health and learning strategies to cope have really allowed me to get to where I am today.
“After working on this project for so long, I’ve really learned to appreciate taking time for myself, and definitely become more aware of what I’m feeling and what I need,” Meyer said.
“As a woman of color pursuing a career in medicine, I understand the importance of representation in a field that has a long history of generational trauma related to health disparities, and stigma regarding mental health,” said junior Yemaya Bruce. “My role in shattering stereotypes, makes me feel empowered to create pathways to a more equitable society.
“Even as a community leader in Mediums of Mental Health, I strengthen those pathways through each and every conversation, podcast episode, event and connection,” Bruce said. “It gives me a sense of confidence knowing I play even a small role to address destigmatizing mental health in our society, especially for youth in our communities.”
Each team member has committed to Mission Bay High’s IB diploma course work during their junior and senior years. Their mental health project will continue as part of their Community Action Service project, an IB diploma requirement.
Junior Natalie Chen said their CAS project is “self-directed” and that it challenges students “to show initiative, demonstrate perseverance and develop skills such as problem-solving, collaboration and decision-making.
“The project can take form in countless different ways, and students are encouraged to go above and beyond in creative ways to contribute to their community,” she said.
This school year the Mediums For Mental Health team made two more interactive mural boards — one each for Pacific Beach Elementary and the K-8 Longfellow Spanish Immersion School in Clairemont Mesa, upgraded their website and started translating materials into Spanish.
“We knew we wanted to continue making boards for schools, and each board costs about $160, so that is most of our budget already,” Meyer said. “We also have our own website (mediumsofmentalhealth.org), which costs about $200 yearly to keep, so we’ve done a couple fundraisers at our school to raise money for that.”
Meyer said the team is also planning to apply for grants so their project can continue in future years.
In January, Pacific Beach Elementary School received its interactive mural board titled “Icebergs of Inspirations” because its mascot is the penguin.
Each of the four boards created thus far have a theme that ties into a specific attribute of the receiving school.
“Savannah of Serenity” was the theme for the board presented to Longfellow students on April 9. Its interactive messaging was in Spanish since it is a Spanish immersion school.
As for the project’s third year in 2025-26, six of the seven team will be seniors. So a big focus will be selecting younger students as their successors, they said. Another major goal is to bring their podcast to fruition while continuing to make and deliver interactive mural boards to local schools, make presentations at community events and write grant applications as part of their fundraising.
Anyone who would like to donate can email Mission Bay High Wellness Coordinator Gloria Cota at [email protected] for details.
