LTE: Active minds to host group creator, Alison Malmon

Active Minds, Guest Columnist

Active Minds is a mental health organization on campus that is dedicated to changing the conversation surrounding mental health.

On Thursday, April 1 at 6 p.m., we are hosting a guest speaker, Alison Malmon, via Zoom. Malmon is the founder and executive director of Active Minds and a sought-after mental health expert. We would like to open this event up to all students, faculty and staff, as we believe Malmon can have an impact and bring hope to those who may be struggling during these unprecedented times. Many professors in the mental health department are receiving emails and are granting students extra credit for attending this event, so people should be on the lookout for that announcement in their emails.

Malmon suffered the loss of her only sibling, Brian, to suicide and started the Active Minds organization in 2003 as a 21-year-old college student. Malmon created the group on her campus at the University of Pennsylvania to end the silence that caused her brother to suffer alone and ultimately take his own life. She also hoped to promote open dialogue around mental health.

Since the creation of the organization, Active Minds has grown into the country’s foremost mental health organization for students and young adults with more than 550 chapters located at colleges, universities and high schools nationwide.