Spring 2025 — Anguish from reading the daily news, isolation born from people keeping to themselves and pressure to perform well in classes. When it comes to dealing with the daily stressors of being a college student, junior McKenzie Unger says one of the best ways to keep your mental health in check is to connect with your peers.
“Talking to someone about the problems you’re dealing with, even if you don’t get them solved, can be such a weight off of your shoulders,” she says. “Just realizing you’re not alone in that struggle and also brainstorming with other people who may have other perspectives and ideas on how to lighten the load of these burdens — it can make it so big crises don’t ever happen.”
Unger says that, like everyone, she’s had moments where she’s struggled with her mental health. In high school, she found acceptance and purpose by participating in peer support programs. So she jumped at the chance to be a student leader of the Beavers Belong Support Network, a new peer support program designed to help students form meaningful connections and navigate the challenges of college life.
Getting involved in groups like these, Unger says, has helped her gain confidence and find something she’s really good at: talking to people. “Creating spaces like this brings us together in a different way. I’m excited to be a part of helping to build and grow this space,” she says.
Launched earlier this year, Beavers Belong is an example of the university’s ongoing efforts to improve student mental well-being by empowering students to build skills, improve resilience and prevent distress. This approach focuses on increasing students’ access to resources, improving education around mental wellness and reducing stigma around seeking help.
A comprehensive approach
As part of the Core Education reform, OSU now requires every student to take a Transitions course that includes a module on mental health. This curriculum focuses on teaching students mental health vocabulary, coping skills and tools for building resilience.
“From a health equity perspective, if all that we do is programming where students have to find time in their day and find motivation to show up and engage, it’s really difficult to reach the students who most need the messages,” says Bonnie Hemrick, director of mental health promotion. “We’re really meeting students where they’re at with a lot of these efforts so that they don’t have to add this onto everything else that they’re doing.”
The goal is to weave mental well-being into every aspect of the student experience. As part of this, the university offers training for all of its faculty and staff on how to respond to mental health inquiries, situations and crises.
“Until recently, departments were generally siloed,” says Kelly Hower, Student Health Services executive director. “Now we’ve moved to a ‘no wrong door’ approach for students, and any employee is equipped to direct a student to the right place to get the help they need.”
Hower co-leads the newly formed Health Promoting University group, a multidisciplinary team that meets monthly to share information related to student well-being. The group is working to address gaps and build out a framework that is thoughtful about its approach to student mental health.
The goal of these changes — along with the broad range of resources already available to students — is to help students feel empowered to manage their mental health. For Hower, that means students have everything they need to work through tough moments: self-awareness, coping skills, knowledge of, and access to the right resources.
“It’s not taking away negative emotions or negative experiences,” Hower says. “It’s working through failure, feeling down or feeling lonely and coming out of that experience mentally well. It’s important to have those supports in place for students to be able to do that.”
Student mental health resources
- Beavers Belong Support Network: Peer support program for students to build connections and support one another through challenges.
- Counseling & Psychological Services: Diverse range of services, including counseling, crisis intervention and mental well-being resources.
- Anytime, Anywhere: Free app-based mental health support accessible 24/7 from anywhere in the world in over 150 languages.
- Student Health Services: Access to health care professionals, including medical and behavioral health care and prevention and wellness resources.
- OSU Assist: Compassionate mobile crisis response from a multidisciplinary support team.
- 988 Lifeline: Suicide and crisis lifeline outside of the university system that allows you to call, text, or chat to receive care around the clock.
Give back: Transforming Mental Well-being