Alumna & Current Student Earn Recognition for Mental Health Essays

Alumna & Current Student Earn Recognition for Mental Health Essays

Notre Dame alumna Sahithi Madireddy ’19, who is currently attending MIT, was named one of ten winners of the “Speaking Up About Mental Health! This Is My Story” national essay challenge. The competition was designed to spur conversations among youth about mental health and encourage them to seek support for themselves and others. Current Notre Dame junior Samskruthi Madireddy ’21 received an honorable mention for her entry.

“Only about half of young adults with a mental illness receive treatment,” said Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). “We issued this essay contest to jump-start a conversation about the impact of mental illness among high school teens, barriers faced when seeking treatment, and innovative approaches to overcome those barriers.”

The NIMH and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), both part of NIH, led the contest in collaboration with the Calvin J. Li Memorial Foundation. A panel of judges from NIMH and NIMHD and the award approving officials selected the winning essays based on their organization, creativity, clarity, and quality of writing. Selected from more than 160 entries from 38 states and Puerto Rico, the essay winners and those receiving honorable mention awards addressed the challenges of stigma, fear, and improving mental health education and treatment, particularly in vulnerable populations. 

You can view the complete list of winners, and read their essays, online here.