On Saturday, May 16, UM-Flint Psychology students and faculty delivered a series of mental health sessions to 85 local girl scouts and their caregivers. Girl Scouts came from throughout Genesee and Oakland counties and ranged from Brownies (2nd – 3rd grade) to Ambassadors (11th – 12th grade).
“Although each age group did slightly different activities in their breakout groups, the main themes we focused on were that mental health is just as important as physical health, that there are many ways to maintain mental wellness, and the importance of supporting others’ mental health”, said Audrey Michal, assistant professor of psychology, and the faculty lead on this program.
While the obvious goals of the event were to teach the visiting Girl Scouts the importance of mental health and different strategies to support it, Audrey shared that another goal of the event was to “provide a meaningful outreach opportunity for our psychology students, so they could apply what they are learning in the classroom to a real-world experience.”
And the psychology student volunteers did just that.
Tonya Williams, a senior from Cadillac, said one of her favorite parts of the event was “being able to facilitate vulnerable conversations between youth and adults. Sometimes, adults forget what it was like as youth, and youth forget that adults have been where they are.”
Anna Zuck, a senior from Flushing, learned “that you must relate to kids, so that they feel understood and seen by you. I think this is pretty important. Sometimes, I feel like I’m still a kid, but in reality, I have to put in the work to make sure I can show the younger generation they can be comfortable around me!”
While some of our student volunteers were tried-and-true Girl Scout leaders with prior experience with these types of events, for others, it was their first time leading discussions and activities with a small group, and they found themselves not only enjoying but also excelling in this experience.
Anna recalls a compliment she received from a Girl Scout after a session. “They told me, ‘You were able to keep us all engaged the entire time!’ That’s hard for a lot of people to do.” Anna reflected that she really enjoyed sharing this information and teaching these girls, as “so much of what we discussed would’ve helped me at their age.”
Tonya is planning to “stay up to date in the change of language that is used regarding mental health” as she looks forward to similar volunteer opportunities in the future.
“Overall, the workshop was a big success, both for our psychology student volunteers and for the Girl Scout community,” says Audrey.
Stay tuned for future projects and engagement opportunities with UM-Flint Psychology.
