Maryland’s First Lady speaks on mental health, economic challenges
Maryland's First Lady, Dawn Moore, speaks to attendees at the "Creating Connections" event (Tom Bacho/College of Behavioral and Social Sciences)
Over 200 students, alumni and faculty members attended the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center’s hour-long panel discussion, "Creating Connections: A Conversation with Maryland’s First Lady,” on the evening of Sept. 24, in Gildenhorn Recital Hall.
The event was moderated by Susan Rivers, dean of the College of Behavioral Social Science; Stephanie Shonekan, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and Kimberly Griffin, dean of the College of Education. The sister deans invited the First Lady of Maryland, Dawn Moore.
Panel moderated by sister deans with First Lady Dawn Moore. From left to right: Susan Rivers, dean of the College of Behavioral Social Science; First Lady of Maryland Dawn Moore; Stephanie Shonekan, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and Kimberly Griffin, dean of the College of Education. (MDGovpics/Flickr)
The panel discussion invited the Maryland community to learn more about First Lady Moore’s agenda, who has worked within the state’s government for over 20 years. The conversation comprised of Moore’s “passion pillars” such as mental health awareness for youth and women empowerment.
“I truly believe that the mental health crisis that we are living in, is the crisis of a generation. I really feel like this was something I needed to take head-on,” Moore said. “Through my husband's administration, [we] invested $300 million last year in healthcare, a significant amount of that has been invested in mental health care and behavioral health.”
First Lady Moore answered questions about the interconnections between economic challenges and being a college student.
“What is it that that person needs? Academically, we might think of them as college leaders, but what do they need for their mental health? Are they food insecure? Are they commuting from a far distance? Are they able to stay around campus and afford that?” asked Dean Susan Rivers.
Moore views the government as a means to come together and for hold these conversations.
“You all are in this academic environment, but you're not just doing academia. You're probably dealing with many, many issues, and so the government is certainly there to support. We come together as a community and figure out what the best practices are.”
Erin Henderson, a senior majoring in criminal justice, talked about how the panel discussion relates to her work-life balance.
Henderson works at Trader Joe’s and the University of Maryland Police Department Police Auxiliary. She works roughly 30 hours a week while attending the university.
“I really enjoyed listening to them talk about the holistic viewpoint. How to create a community that focuses not just on students, but their families, stuff that they have to deal with that might get in the way of education,” Henderson said.
First Lady Moore emphasized the importance of serving the community and advised on making the most out of a student’s time at this university.
“I literally get goosebumps thinking about serving other people. If you go out into the world and see the differences you can make in other people's lives, the work that you can do, there's nothing to me more powerful than that,” Moore said. “Figure out something that's bigger than yourself and be a part of it.”
Taylor Clark is a senior majoring in human development and a mentor for TerpsEXCEED, a post-secondary education program for students with developmental disabilities that gives students opportunities to pursue a degree on campus.
“When she's talking about, “things are bigger than yourself,” that's something that I remind myself all the time, that there's so much more to the world than just me. So how can I give back and how can I make connections?” Clark explained.
Maryland’s First Lady Dawn Moore closed her remarks with the embodiment of the state government’s mission “to leave no one behind.”
“When I think about our leadership, and I think about what we're doing in the state of Maryland, where there are bold visions to be able to address some of our most practical issues,” Moore said.