Athletes are constantly trying to keep their physical health at its peak, but they often don’t pay the same amount of attention and care to their mental health. That is a stigma Morgan’s Message is trying to break. Morgan’s Message is a non-profit organization that aims to support athletes struggling with mental health.

Morgan Rodgers was a lacrosse player at Duke University when she experienced an intense knee injury. She began to suffer from depression after losing her ability to do the sport she had once devoted herself to. She lost her battle to mental health by suicide in July of 2019. Her family created Morgan’s Message as a way to continue her legacy and spread the message that even strong and resilient presenting athletes can be struggling on the inside.

Morgan’s Message has since been implemented at schools across the country with chapters and ambassadors, including BSM. Some athletes at BSM value the idea of Morgan’s Message and wanted to spread mental health awareness and support throughout their school community. “It’d be awesome to bring that awareness here and spread it but also to be a voice for any students that are struggling with their mental health,” chapter founder and ambassador senior Fayedra Vang said.

Learning how to look for support from others instead of trying to stand strong on their own can be a big struggle for athletes. Isolation and hiding feelings is common in athletes who struggle with mental health, including Rodgers. So Morgan’s Message taking the form of a club at BSM helps to combat that. “Through Morgan’s Message I learned to look for resources and I grew my relationship with my family and my friends and looked for more supportive surroundings and environment,” Vang said.

There are multiple focuses of meetings at BSM. They do calming activities as well as things to push the message of positivity and mental health importance into their community. For example, at one of their recent meetings they drew cards with positive messages. “We were making cards with positive sayings on them like ‘you can do it’ ‘do your best’ stuff like that. It was coloring so it was in a way stress relieving and pushing out that positive mental attitude,” senior leader Lily Peterson said.

They also focus on connecting with each other at meetings. Athletes are open to talk about their feelings so no one has to feel they are struggling alone. “It’s just to help and try to connect with other people and possibly just talk about certain feelings and letting those go in a healthy and comforting way,” senior leader Avery Nientimp said.