Courtesy of Active Minds

Presenting a slide about taking initiative in the organization, Active Minds officers encouraged member participation. During its first meeting of the year, Active Minds organized activities for members to get to know each other in order to foster a welcoming community.

On Friday, Sept. 15, Active Minds hosted an informational meeting in room E2304 before school and in room D2216 in the afternoon. Active Minds is a non-profit that strives to make its organization a safe place for its members to speak about their experiences with mental health. 

During the meeting, members played telephone and pictionary while enjoying donuts. Officers presented a slideshow introducing Active Minds’s mission and plans for the future. Members were able to get to know each other and the club in an engaging way. 

Active Minds is a non-profit national organization that focuses on mental health. Students are able to host events, make connections with professionals, and earn service hours all while educating, advocating, and raising awareness for mental health. Anyone who is interested in mental health and wants to leave a lasting impact on the stigma surrounding mental health is encouraged to join. 

“Everyone and anyone is welcome, whether they are simply looking for like-minded people who can support them, or whether they actively aim to advocate and speak up to create change,” Mishree Narasaiah ‘25 said. 

Westwood’s Active Minds chapter was co-founded by Narasaiah and Rutu Ruparel ’25 in 2022 because they wanted to make a positive impact on the school and community. Their aim is twofold: to alter how the community perceives mental health and offer the opportunity to regulate mental health.  After a long summer of finding sponsors, planning meetings, and finding officers, the chapter began spring of 2023. 

“I wanted to start Active Minds because I know how important mental health is, especially in a competitive environment like Westwood,” Ruparel said. “We don’t really have many resources in Westwood directly available to address mental health issues, which is why I believed that starting this club would leave a big impact on campus.” 

The co-founders intend for the club to be a safe place for ideas to be shared about projects and ideas. 

“I also wanted Active Minds to be an outlet for passionate and committed members to collaborate on the topic of mental health,” Narasaiah said. “Which is such a prevalent and important issue in today’s world, and a topic that’s unique to every individual, yet has the ability to bring us all together.”

Ruparel aims for Westwood to be more educated in mental health and offer it a voice in the community.

“I hope that Active Minds reaches to the point where people start addressing widespread mental health issues on campus and use their awareness to help de-stigmatize it,” Ruparel said.