Student-Led Initiatives Mark Mental Health Awareness Month

The Lawrenceville School marked National Mental Health Awareness Month in May with a series of student-led initiatives designed to encourage reflection, connection, and conversations about wellbeing.

Organized through the School’s student-led Wellness Council, this year’s programming included “Wellbeing in the Wild,” an outdoor exploration series that invited students to gather together through activities such as a sidewalk chalk exploration and a wishing tree installation.

According to Student Council Wellness Representative Audrey Liu ’26, “Wellbeing in the Wild” was created with the goal of bringing students together outside and encouraging moments of reflection near the close of the academic year.

The month also included a student-produced video (by Nathaneal Mayer ’27) introducing Lawrenceville counselors and aimed at encouraging students to reach out for support when needed.

“My hope is that people walk away recognizing that taking care of your mental health can look different for everyone,” Liu said. “I also hope these events gave the community a chance to reflect on the year and learn from one another. And most of all, I hope people feel encouraged to reach out, because it can never hurt.”

May’s events were the culmination of a year-long collaborative effort between the Wellness Council, faculty, and staff—including the signature Wellness Week in January—to promote a holistic and proactive approach to student wellbeing.

For Dean of Campus Wellbeing Michaela Chipman, that student involvement is essential to the School’s broader approach to wellbeing programming.

“Student involvement in this work—and all of our wellbeing programming—is mission critical,” Chipman said. “We want our messages to be crafted and delivered in a way that our students hear them. We also want to be sure all wellbeing programming is responsive to student needs and desires.”

Chipman described Lawrenceville’s wellness efforts as collaborative in nature, with students serving as “co-creators” of programming and initiatives.

“The programming is in total alignment with the Lawrenceville wellbeing arc,” Chipman said. “Our Wellness Wheel prompts students to think about their wellbeing holistically—acknowledging that wellbeing is an active, ongoing, and multidimensional process.”

She added that Lawrenceville’s broader wellbeing framework encourages students to make use of the School’s many support systems and campus resources, from advisory and House relationships to the Health and Wellness Center and the School’s campus environment.

“Great achievement cannot occur without rest,” Chipman said. “I am proud that we teach Lawrenceville students to be exceptional in their chosen areas of expertise and exploration, while also providing them with the tools to keep a sustainable pace and good care of themselves as they change the world.”

Liu reflected positively on the year’s wellbeing programming and the collaboration behind it.

“From Wellbeing Week to everything else in between, it has been such a great year,” Liu said. “I want to say thank you to everyone who helped make it possible.”

For more information, contact Lisa M. Gillard H'17, director of public relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.