Any day that begins with bagels and Beyoncé is sure to be a special one. This can most certainly be said about February 5th: the date of the first ever UC Davis Mental Health Conference. Her Campus recently interviewed conference founder, Samantha Chiang, about how this conference came to be. The conference has concluded and should be commended for its success – its purpose and its resources should be sustained for years to come.
This conference was impressively and entirely run by students through an executive board and a huge number of volunteers. Starting at 9am and wrapping up at 8pm, the itinerary featured a number of keynote speakers, workshops, student panels, administrative panels, psychologist panels, caucuses, and student performances to engage in the subject of mental health. A resource fair was held during the lunch hour in which representatives from UC Davis campus mental health organizations, such as Student Health and Counseling Services and The Mind Spa, gave resources and information to attendees.
While the conference was certainly informative, it was also cathartic to feel such a sense of support and community among the attendees. In the UC Davis Conference Center, there were healing spaces set aside for attendees, who were encouraged to self-care throughout the day should it be needed. The conference was designed with the wellbeing of all types of people in mind. Everyone upheld the conference-wide community agreements to ensure inclusivity, sensitivity, and safety for all involved.
This event will hopefully perpetuate the important discussion about mental health and mental illness. All of those who were involved in the creation of the conference as well as those who participated deserve to be recognized for their dedication to the cause and the event; it was an outstanding day dedicated to such a relevant issue.
It was definitely an empowering experience to attend the Mental Health Conference. I left feeling uplifted and inspired to further the conversation about mental health among the campus community and work to destigmatize mental health issues and mental illness. I have high hopes that the conference will continue to occur alongside other awareness events and initiatives. Her Campus at UC Davis looks forward to see what develops from this extraordinary first for our university!
Be sure to check the UC Davis Mental Health Conference Facebook page for more information.
*Images taken by author of article.