As we celebrate World Mental Health Day, Parkside Athletics is proud to announce Rangers; Let's Talk – the home of new mental health initiatives and resources for student-athletes. Rangers; Let's Talk aims to promote conversations around mental health in athletics in order to decrease stigma and increase help-seeking behaviors. 
 
The umbrella of Rangers; Let's Talk initiatives are led by Mental Health Advocacy Graduate Assistant Madeleine McKenna. The newly created Mental Health Advocacy GA position works in alignment with the Clinical and Mental Health Counseling program was added for the 2022-23 year. McKenna began her role on August 1, 2022.
 
"I am extremely grateful to be working in an athletics department where student-athlete mental health and well-being is valued and prioritized, so much so that they created a specific position for Mental Health Advocacy," McKenna said. "The stigma surrounding mental health in athletics can be a huge barrier to student-athletes seeking the support that they need and deserve, so the Rangers; Let's Talk initiatives will be invaluable in starting and normalizing conversations about mental health within the Parkside athletics department."
 
The current initiatives in Rangers; Let's Talk include the Green Bandana Project, Rangers; Huddle Up, and Rangers; Listen student-athlete development sessions. Follow @RangersLetsTalk on Instagram to stay up to date on all of these mental health initiatives. 
 
Green Bandana Project – Founded at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2016, the Bandana Project is a suicide prevention and mental health awareness movement. After going through a "training" session, members are given green bandanas to tie to their backpack, along with resource cards outlining various campus-specific and national mental health resources. The bandana is not only a sign that the member carries these resource cards to share with their peers, but also that the individual has pledged to support the mental health of the people in their life while rejecting the stigma associated with mental health struggles. The goal is not to teach the members of the Bandana Project to be counselors, but rather to empower them to be supportive teammates with knowledge of various resources that they can refer their friends and peers to for the appropriate professional support they need. As an organization, the Bandana Project supports chapters in bolstering resources and making positive changes in mental health promotion on their campuses in order to de-stigmatize seeking help and provide solidarity with those struggling through the visual representation of support in all those carrying the bandana.
 
Student-athletes have launched the Bandana Project chapter at Parkside through Rangers Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (RSAAC) with the goal of spreading it throughout the athletic department and eventually expanding the initiative campus-wide. Junior volleyball student-athlete Maddy Dokken is Parkside's student liaison for the Green Bandana Project and a member of the RSAAC Mental Health Subcommittee.
 
"The Green Bandana Project is an amazing movement to help spread awareness of the available resources for those struggling with mental health," said Dokken. "This project is so special and my hopes are that it will make students and student-athletes feel more comfortable reaching out if they are struggling with their mental health. I can't wait to see how this project develops and all of the people it will help!"
 
Rangers; Huddle Up – This new mental health initiative is designed to boost support and the sense of community within the student-athlete body through a series of different "huddles" with different themes/topics. The first of these huddles is the Athletes with Injuries group, where athletes from different teams with different injuries have the opportunity to get together to talk about their experiences and what they're going through. Developed out of the knowledge and understanding of how injuries can contribute to higher chances of negative mental health outcomes for student-athletes, the Athletes with Injuries huddle gives these student-athletes a community of peers who are going through similar situations to relate to and lean on. 
 
Rangers; Listen – As the Parkside Athletics Student-Athlete Development programming continues to grow and expand, Rangers; Listen sessions are seminars designed to encourage education, awareness, and conversations surrounding mental health within the student-athlete population. The first Rangers; Listen session provided an overview of the new Mental Health Advocacy GA position, introduced some of the new mental health initiatives, and gave the student-athletes the opportunity to learn about stigma and discuss how it shows up within the culture of athletics. 
 
Mental Health Advocacy GA, Madeleine McKenna – A 2021 graduate of California University of Pennsylvania, McKenna is in her first semester as a graduate student in UW-Parkside's Clinical and Mental Health Counseling program. She earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology from Cal U and was four-year member of the volleyball program.
 
McKenna was a member of the National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee during her time at Cal U and was selected for numerous leadership roles. She served a two-year term on the NCAA Division II Management Council from 2019-22. In 2021-22, McKenna served the NCAA as one of three student-athletes on the NCAA's Constitution Committee chaired by former Secretary of State Robert Gates. McKenna then worked alongside UW-Parkside Chancellor Deborah Ford on the NCAA Division II Implementation Committee. 
 
Currently, McKenna is serving as a member of the NCAA's Board of Governors. McKenna is one of nine voting members of the Board of Governors and the first student-athlete voting representative.
 
"It has been so exciting to see the student-athletes spearhead the Green Bandana Project and embrace these other initiatives. My hope is that our student-athletes will feel empowered to be passionate and vocal advocates for mental health on their own teams, in the campus community, and beyond as they continue to grow into the next generation of strong, empathetic, and authentic leaders. We are cultivating an environment in which mental health awareness, support, and education are promoted and stigma is rejected, and I'm just really honored and grateful to be a part of that important work."
 
For University of Wisconsin-Parkside campus counseling resources, visit https://www.uwp.edu/live/services/studenthealth/.