Charlene Ahn (President)
What does NAMI stand for?
“NAMI stands for National Alliance on Mental Illnesses.”
What is the mission of NAMI?
“Our mission is to reduce stigmas on mental illnesses through educating students. We also want to be able to create a safe community on campus for anyone who knows a loved one struggling with mental health, is struggling with mental health themself, or just for anyone who wants to advocate for mental health. We hope that by ending the stigma around mental health and creating this safe community on campus, students can openly seek support from a professional when facing a mental health crisis, or use the resources we provide to seek help.”
As the club rush is right around the corner, are there any upcoming events?
“Yes! Our first meeting will actually be this Friday, Sep. 23! In this meeting, we will be giving an introduction to NAMI, and we will be creating positive affirmation posters for suicide prevention month! We are planning to use these posters to hang around the school, and create a video for October’s Wellness Wednesday video. Our future meetings will focus on covering what stigma is and scenarios involving mental health stigmas.”
As the president of NAMI, what are some ways you destress in your free time?
“One of the main ways I destress during my downtime is walking around my neighborhood with my parents and my dog, Bori! Although some people may believe that taking a short walk is an ineffective way to cope, it really makes a big difference! There were many instances—especially during quarantine—where I would have many intrusive thoughts that I simply had no control of. I found that whenever I would take a walk around my neighborhood, it would distract me from these thoughts, and help me destress.”
Janice Liu (Vice President)
Why did you choose to be the vice president of NAMI?
“I chose to be the vice president of NAMI because I love the mission of NAMI. I wish to make an environment where people are comfortable learning and discussing mental health, which is usually a topic that many keep quiet about. Being vice president [of NAMI] allows me to connect with the community and help others understand themselves better.”
What are your responsibilities as the vice president?
“One of my responsibilities so far as vice president is to make our monthly Wellness Wednesday announcements. It is a way to spread knowledge on mental health to the entire student body which makes it a very important job. My main responsibility is to be here to support our president and our members.”
What are your hopes and goals for NAMI this year?
“My hopes and dreams for NAMI is to get rid of a lot of stigma surrounding mental health. We may not be a support group but we wish to open up doors for students to get help if needed so that our community becomes a better place overall.”
Would you rather eat pizza or tacos for the rest of your life?
“I have definitely gotten sick of pizza over the school year so I would definitely go with tacos.”
Vinci Lam (Publicity Officer)
What are your responsibilities as the Publicity officer of NAMI?
“As publicity director of NAMI, my responsibilities are to create the graphics, film and create the wellness Wednesday announcement monthly, and manage the NAMI Instagram.”
How are NAMI’s weekly announcement videos created?
“NAMI’s Wellness Wednesday announcements are monthly and are created by first making the slides with my president and vice president and then I film the video through Zoom.”
As the publicity officer, what would be your advice to fellow wildcats who are struggling with mental health currently?
“I do not think I can answer that since I am struggling too.”
What is your opinion about fruits on pizza?
“Who cares, if people like it then they like it; if they do not like [fruits on pizza], who cares?”
Shannon Chau (Treasurer)
What does being NAMI’s treasurer entail?
“Being financially responsible for how NAMI deals with its funding places a large responsibility onto me with planning events for NAMI. Not only do I need to organize fundraisers to make a profit, but I also need to learn how to handle those profits to help bring students higher quality events in the future.”
With club events coming up soon, are there any upcoming fundraising activities to look out for?
“Unfortunately, we have not established official fundraisers yet but we currently have ideas in the making as of now.”
How would you describe NAMI with 3 words?
“Best. Club. Ever.”
What is your favorite dessert and why?
“My favorite dessert is bread pudding because it’s sweet but not in an overbearing way :)”
Nicole Li (Secretary)
What is being a NAMI secretary like?
“So far being the secretary of NAMI is fun since I get to build the club with fellow cabinet members.”
What mental health phenomenon around the campus concerns you the most?
“A mental health phenomenon around the campus is stress and anxiety. Although the word “stress” is often overused, stress is real and many people [on campus] are so stressed out that they forget to live.”
To the potential members this year, what would you like to say to them?
“Cannot wait for you to join NAMI
What is your favorite genre of music to do homework with?
“It depends. I like the 80s and 90s [music], but I also love listening to Nicki.”
