On Monday, March 25, a new Mounties 4 Mental Health (M4MH) student group was launched at Mount Allison. The team is focused on positively impacting the mental health and wellness of student-athletes at Mount Allison through education, awareness, and initiatives. The group was formerly known as Student-Athlete Mental Health Initiatives (SAMHI).  

“Student-athletes at the university level face unique challenges, especially in our world today,” says Mounties for Mental Health co-President and Women’s Hockey Mountie Tallon Stephenson. “There is a growing demand for conversations surrounding mental health and resources tailored for people to take care of their well-being. We hope to enhance our impact within the student-athlete community here at Mount Allison, so we can ensure all our athletes are being cared for in whatever capacity they may need.” 

The Mounties 4 Mental Health student group builds on the initiative that was started two years ago by founding members Matt Thomson (‘11) and Jon Graves (‘15), supporting healthy dialogue and suicide awareness, intervention, and prevention training on campus in memory of a football teammate.  

“We are really excited about our collaboration with the existing Mounties for Mental Health initiative as it will provide enhanced funding and opportunities for our group to bring awareness to the unique challenges student-athletes are presented with at the university level,” says Mounties 4 Mental Health co-President and Women’s Basketball Mountie Hilary Shea. “We plan to implement programming that will provide our coaches with a better awareness of the mental health resources available for students on campus, as well as develop resources and tools specifically tailored to student-athlete mental health.” 

Other M4MH executive include Kenadie Wagg (Soccer), Rebecca Cotton (Volleyball), and Julia Henry (Volleyball). The group will also include a representative from each Mounties varsity team.  

“The Mounties 4 Mental Health initiative is very exciting and I am looking forward to collaborating with this group of students to promote mental well-being in sport and beyond,” says Director of Accessibility and Student Wellness Matt Maston. 

If you are interested in donating to the Mounties for Mental Health initiative at Mount Allison, visit mta.ca/donate and direct your gift to Mounties for Mental Health.