Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: This show is not a substitute for professional counseling and no relationship is created between the show host or guests and any listener. If you feel you are in need of professional mental health and are a UA student, we encourage you to contact the UA Counseling center at 348-3863. If you are not a UA student, please contact your respective counties crisis service hotline or their local mental health agency or insurance company. If it is an emergency situation, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
[00:00:42] Speaker B: Hi, Everybody. This is Dr. Tweety Perez. And welcome back to the Bama Balance. Real stories about college men's mental health. Brooks Edwards. Great to see you guys again.
[00:00:51] Speaker C: Good to be here.
[00:00:52] Speaker B: How is. How things going?
[00:00:54] Speaker D: I've got a hectic week, but I'll tell you what, this makes Mondays a lot better.
[00:00:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:00:59] Speaker D: Gives me something to look forward to. I'm already way more happy than I was earlier today when I was taking a test. So I'm excited for today and hear what we have to talk about.
[00:01:10] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:10] Speaker D: Looking forward to the week.
[00:01:12] Speaker B: We kind of get into our group. This is our sixth episode. Is that right?
[00:01:15] Speaker E: Sixth episode.
[00:01:16] Speaker B: Gosh, I can't believe that we're about a third of the way through the semester. Is that crazy or what?
[00:01:21] Speaker E: I mean, crazy. Had my first exam today, like, not ready for anything. I just wanted everything to slow down.
[00:01:28] Speaker B: Right? Just slow down, man. So we're just also coming off of a bye week, which is nice, but by the time I think this airs, we will have.
[00:01:38] Speaker E: You will have played Georgia.
[00:01:39] Speaker B: Georgia. Right.
And so this is. I don't know if it's Monday morning quarterbacking or what. This is.
As we talk about a game that's already been.
This is kind of strange, right? We're. We're talking about a game that's not yet happened but has already been crazy. It really is.
I still like our chances, though.
[00:02:03] Speaker D: I feel pretty good about it. Yeah, I'll be there.
[00:02:06] Speaker B: So you will be in Atlantis.
[00:02:07] Speaker D: The only way I'm going is if I feel somewhat decent about it, so. Okay, I'll be there.
[00:02:12] Speaker E: I just want us, when we're recording the podcast, like, on the following Monday, for you to not be able to talk because you're screaming so loud. And I need you to have, like, lost your voice because you were.
You're going crazy out there.
[00:02:25] Speaker B: Well, my. After now, we may have to do a remote podcast where we bring in. Are you. Where we bring in Brooks. Are you going, Edward?
[00:02:34] Speaker E: I'm not. I did not get a ticket.
[00:02:35] Speaker C: I did not have Loyalty points for that.
[00:02:38] Speaker E: I wanted one, but I think I was 100 off.
[00:02:41] Speaker B: Oh, man. Okay, so you've got a ways to.
[00:02:45] Speaker E: Go or so you got a ways to go. Well, the problem was I did. I forgot to turn my location on for the app. So every full game I've been to freshman and sophomore year, none of them counted.
[00:02:53] Speaker B: That's how that works. You've got to turn on your location.
[00:02:56] Speaker E: Didn't realize I hadn't done that. And I was like, why am I getting any points?
[00:02:58] Speaker C: Well, that's why.
[00:02:59] Speaker B: I don't think I realized that either.
[00:03:01] Speaker E: For football games, that's the case. For other sports, you scan a QR code.
[00:03:04] Speaker B: Interesting.
[00:03:05] Speaker E: Don't really go to much else.
[00:03:07] Speaker B: Not basketball games.
[00:03:08] Speaker E: I go to basketball games and I got. I've gotten some from. From that as well, but I sometimes I just forget to do it.
[00:03:13] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. And so the other news today is that Bruce Pearl resigned. Right.
[00:03:19] Speaker D: That caught me by surprise, especially with all my buddies, you know, being over and shot him a text. One of the text back, all I said was fellas with a period.
And one of my best friends shot back and was like, I'm gonna need three to five business days.
[00:03:33] Speaker B: Oh my gosh.
[00:03:34] Speaker D: I think they're pretty upset about that, but.
[00:03:36] Speaker B: Right.
[00:03:36] Speaker E: I just hope to hud Petford transfers.
[00:03:38] Speaker B: To like Alabama or something. That'd be great. But it'd be kind of fun.
[00:03:41] Speaker E: It's not a here nor there.
[00:03:42] Speaker B: There's. There's a lot of news in the sports world and.
But still focused on football season. And so we're hoping that, that once this airs that will be. We will have celebrated an Athens victory.
Looking forward to that. Right. So gosh, roll tied to that. But we are excited today.
We've got, we've got our guest today, Michael Dobbs. Michael's going to be talking to us about a new mental health initiative that he's been working on and so he's. He's excited to be here with us today and we look forward to learning more about his initiative when we come back. This is the battle of balance.
[00:04:37] Speaker C: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa.
[00:04:40] Speaker A: This show is not a substitute for professional counseling and no relationship is created between the show host or guests and any listener. If you feel you are in need of professional mental health and are a UA student, we encourage you to contact the UA Counseling center at 348-3863 if you are in. If you are not a UA student, please contact your respective county's crisis service hotline or their local Mental health agency or insurance company. If it is an emergency situation, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
[00:05:23] Speaker E: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the BAMA Balance where you're going to jump into our first full segment here. And across from me I have Michael Dobbs.
He is the what? The founder.
[00:05:34] Speaker C: The. Or not founder, but Founder.
[00:05:37] Speaker E: Okay, yeah, founder. Founder of the Greek Mental Health Ambassadors program.
[00:05:40] Speaker B: Did I do that right?
[00:05:40] Speaker C: Founder sounds weird, but I guess I am the founder.
[00:05:44] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:44] Speaker E: So tell us a little bit about that because I've never heard of this before today. I've been, you know, full disclosure, I have no idea what this is, but this sounds very interesting. So what. Just tell us a little bit about the program.
[00:05:57] Speaker C: That's so fair.
I started about a year ago now, so during the fall of my semester year. I'm a junior and I should probably introduce myself. I'm Michael Dobbs. I'm a junior from Birmingham, Alabama. And so anyway, I started the organization last year during the fall and at the time I was in sga. So I was looking for initiatives to kind of help the mental health scene at Alabama because one of my buddies father's passed away from an alcohol overdose and any overdose, whether it's intentional or accidental, does lead or derive from mental illnesses.
So I looked at the school's resources and I couldn't find necessarily what I wanted to find. And what I did find was it costs money for people to get help at the counseling center. So I met with one of the counselors, asked him about that and they had something in place already for that. So I asked him, how can I help you all? And he said exactly what I found was we need people to help put this information out there. So I went away from SGA with this and from there it just kind of blossomed to where we are now and getting people trained. And it is great. I'm loving it. Awesome.
[00:07:18] Speaker B: Awesome.
[00:07:19] Speaker D: So I guess you've kind of told us what made you do it as far as like, you know, who's your target or how does it work, Getting somebody to help you with something like this or what does the process look like, both getting trained and on the other side of things.
[00:07:38] Speaker C: So we've had one training session so far and then it was.
It was a 45 minute training and it was called blue button training that the counseling center does. And that's all just the mental health resources at the school for like five minutes. Each one tells you what they do and where to find them, how to contact them. This year though, will have blue buttons in the 45 minutes. As well as QPR training, which is a suicide prevention training.
[00:08:06] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:08:06] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:08:07] Speaker D: Sweet.
[00:08:07] Speaker C: That's awesome.
[00:08:09] Speaker B: Michael, if you were. If you were to talk about the program and. And really its purpose and its mission, how would you just best describe that?
[00:08:18] Speaker C: The program itself is just to spread awareness. And then. Well, now it's to spread awareness and help people be in the right position to help their fellow peers when they are needing help.
So we'll bring people in. So my job is. Our job as an organization is to bring people in for the counseling center to train. So we're more of the outreach to aspect. So we have two people who will outreach the fraternities and people who outreach the sororities and bring people in. This year we'll have creek points and CW points to encourage people, hey, this is a good thing for the school. This will help people. And hopefully it brings in a whole bunch more people this year.
Yes, sir.
[00:09:04] Speaker B: So I know you've worked a lot on this last year to kind of get the organization set up and all the infrastructure all set up. And I know that you mentioned as you were talking that you were sort of touched or inspired by this as a result of.
Was it a friend of yours, parent, or. How did you describe that again?
[00:09:26] Speaker C: One of my friends dads.
[00:09:28] Speaker B: Okay, one of your friends dads passed away through alcohol poisoning. How did that affect you and how did you sort of take that and decide to invest yourself in this initiative?
[00:09:42] Speaker C: Well, I mean, it's sad to see my friend in a sad place, and it's not a good place anyone should be in.
So I don't want anyone else at the campus in the time. I don't want anyone else at the campus to be in that position if they needed the help that they need.
And I don't want anyone to pass away from overdose. That's all deriving from mental illnesses. So if we can beat the root cause, then it could help with everything else stemming from that.
So, I mean, from there I just looked at all the resources that the school offers, and once again, it was. It was hard to find what the resources did. Not necessarily the resources themselves, but what they did.
[00:10:22] Speaker B: Sure. And how did you decide to focus on the Greek community? For now?
[00:10:29] Speaker C: It was an easy outreach for me. I mean, already being from. Already being in Greek life, it's easier for me to, you know, talk to people in Greek life. And I think if you're in Greek life, you've known of people that have been through mental health issues.
So it's it's just a good place to start.
[00:10:47] Speaker B: Mm. Mm. How have you found the response to be so far?
[00:10:51] Speaker C: It's been great. Yeah, it has been amazing. So last year, I would say we had a hundred.
Over 150 people show up to the training session. And then this year, I expect a whole bunch more. So the goal is to have someone in each class, in each house, come to the training to be a liaison.
[00:11:13] Speaker E: Liaison, yeah.
[00:11:14] Speaker C: There we go.
For their class. Because no one wants to talk to. When they're a freshman, talk to a senior about mental health problems that they're having. That's harder to do. So if I can have a freshman in farmhouse, a freshman in ato, get trained, then the other freshman will be more willing to talk to them.
[00:11:34] Speaker B: No? That makes sense.
[00:11:35] Speaker E: So it seems like the. It's kind of like the organization acts as, like, a intermediary between Greek organizations and the counseling center. Is that kind of. Yeah, like a bridge almost.
[00:11:46] Speaker C: That's a good way to describe it. Without a doubt. And the training is completely open to anyone. It's just we kind of do it already in towards the Greek life, we outreach towards the Greek life a little bit more. But anyone can show up to the training, get trained more the merrier, without a doubt.
[00:12:03] Speaker B: Right.
[00:12:03] Speaker D: That makes a lot of sense. Especially I can see where you're coming from. You know, being in Greek life, that's the easy way to get started. You already know a bunch of girls, guys from different, you know, fraternities and sororities.
Do you think in the future you'd have, like, any aspirations to get this going to the whole school, or do you think it'll stay Greek oriented or what are your thoughts on that?
[00:12:26] Speaker C: I would say while I'm in college, because I only have, gosh, a year and a half more. I don't like that.
[00:12:32] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:12:32] Speaker E: Yeah, I know. It's scary.
[00:12:33] Speaker C: That's scary. I have a year and a half more for that time span. It'll be with the Greek life. But, I mean, I want this to grow as much as it can while I'm out of college. Go grow here, grow to other schools, hopefully. So, I mean, once again, more the merrier.
[00:12:51] Speaker B: How hard was it to. To get the initial group of folks started? Like, it. Was it. Was it a challenge to get folks to sign up for it, or how did you get the word out there?
[00:13:04] Speaker C: No, that's a great question. I'm trying to remember.
[00:13:06] Speaker B: I don't.
[00:13:06] Speaker C: It's a year ago.
My memory is kind of bad. It was kind of hard to outreach at first because I had to contact every single fraternity and sorority president and I'm not great with the formal emails.
[00:13:20] Speaker B: I had to say.
[00:13:21] Speaker C: So reaching out to everyone was kind of hassle. But yeah, it wasn't that bad. Yeah, getting people to show up for the first training session was somewhat more difficult than this one's going to be because I've had great help from Ginny Page and hey, Delisi.
[00:13:36] Speaker B: The tied against suicide student group. Yes. Okay, so when you talk about the training, what kind of training is involved with it, with the group?
[00:13:45] Speaker C: So it's just two this year. It's just two sets of training. So it'll be, I mean, a little bit over an hour and 30. So it's going to be the 30 to 45 minute blue button into video.
[00:13:55] Speaker B: You mentioned that.
[00:13:56] Speaker C: Yes, sir. And the QPR training.
[00:13:58] Speaker B: Okay, so can you say so for those who don't know what the blue button program is, can you say just a little bit about that?
[00:14:04] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. So it's brand new, so I think this will be maybe one of the first videos that they've done.
Last year they had people from the organizations come and speak, and it is upwards of eight organizations at the school. And they say where they are, what they do, how they help people, their contact information. So if someone does need help, they know the right place to go. Everyone thinks, if I need help, I'll go to the counseling center. But there are some that are more specified for exactly what you need, like Collegiate Recovery, Phenomenal group. And if you're struggling with that, go to Collegiate Recovery.
[00:14:43] Speaker B: Gotcha. So the blue button program is an initiative in and of itself to help inform the campus about where to go if you need assistance. Okay.
[00:14:53] Speaker C: Yes, sir.
[00:14:53] Speaker B: Gotcha.
[00:14:54] Speaker E: And what was that second one, the Q. Qpr.
[00:14:57] Speaker C: Qpr.
[00:14:57] Speaker E: What does that stand for?
[00:14:59] Speaker B: Question, persuade, refer.
[00:15:01] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:15:02] Speaker B: Okay. Yeah. And it's it's a. I'll let you talk about it.
[00:15:06] Speaker C: Yeah. So the person doing the QPR training, Michelle Moss, super sweet lady, she's great at it. Um, and she's very good about getting people interacting with it. So she will sit down and has a PowerPoint and it goes over how to talk to someone and how to reach out to someone when they're in need of help or like when you think that they may be struggling with mental illness, what questions to ask. And she'll get a student on stage and they'll act it out through like a whole bunch of different scenarios. So if a student does need help, then the goal of this Group is to know where to send them, and then now, with the QPR training, know how to talk to them as well.
[00:15:48] Speaker B: Okay. It's pretty. It's a pretty widely known program for suicide prevention and education, and so we're fortunate to have it here on campus.
[00:15:59] Speaker E: Yes, very much so. Well, this was. This is our first segment of the Bama Balance podcast. Just stay tuned and we'll be right back for our second segment after this break.
[00:16:25] Speaker C: Wvuafm, tuscaloosa.
[00:16:28] Speaker A: This show is not a substitute for professional counseling, and no relationship is created between the show host or guests and any listener. If you feel you are in need of professional mental health and are a UA student, we encourage you to contact the UA Counseling center at 34838.
If you are not a UA student, please contact your respective counties crisis service hotline or their local mental health agency or insurance company. If it is an emergency situation, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
[00:17:09] Speaker D: What's up, guys? We're back for segment two of this podcast. And, Michael, it's been great talking to you. And I want to bring back a point that you made last segment where you said that you think it's good for younger guys to be talking to younger guys and that sort of thing. And I just wanted to throw a little bit of my, I guess, thoughts on it as me and Dr. Prez worked, you know, last year through the GRIT program. I'm not sure if you know about that, but it was basically a resilience program that we piloted, and it was me, Dr. Perez, Johnny Foster, and then Worth and Calvin. And we seemed that the younger guys really liked having us there to talk to them about it. I'm not sure if that's a, you know, just a common thing or if that's everybody, but I felt like the young guys and all college men get a lot more help when college men are talking to them and giving advice on that sort of thing. Do you have any thoughts on that?
[00:18:07] Speaker C: No, I completely agree with that with the organization. There's kind of two things I was going towards. People love going to the counsel center and getting help, but they might be more reluctant talking to someone when there's a huge age gap right there. Right. And then also an age gap within the houses. So like I said earlier, freshmen might not reach out to a senior if they're having issues. They love the advice, but they might not reach out.
So the goal is to get freshmen trained, sophomores, juniors, seniors, so everyone, every age group in the house, even if I had an issue. I'll be much more willing to talk to someone that's my age that I'm friends with beforehand than one of my seniors, one of my freshmen.
[00:18:52] Speaker D: That's smart. I definitely agree with that.
[00:18:54] Speaker E: I think there's a lot to that. Like, I know we've talked about in the past going, like, just kind of who you feel comfortable opening up around. And like, that's just. I think that's a great, I guess, like, formula because. Yeah, I mean, like, we are going to be more likely to reach out to our peers and. And to. Especially, I think, like, with the.
The similar experience, like, going through the. The same season as other people and. Yeah, like, we're all in college, but I mean, college is like, every year is so different, and having that person that you're doing the same year with the same things with, like, they can relate. So that's why I think it's. I mean, that. That really, I think, hits home on, like, a lot of the. On trying to solve a lot of those issues.
[00:19:33] Speaker B: Right. Right now, I think more and more we see, you know, the, the power that. That peer to peer counseling or peer to peer coaching has because, you know, like you said, Michael, it's. It's. It's more likely that students will reach out to other students. And as you were talking, I was wondering, you know, putting yourself in. In those shoes of a freshman, what do you think those challenges are for freshmen in terms of reaching out and even to other students, even to other upperclassmen for help?
[00:20:03] Speaker C: Freshman year is. Freshman year is hard.
[00:20:05] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:20:05] Speaker C: I mean, we've all done that. Freshman year. Freshman year is a difficult year. You're new to college. You don't necessarily know everything on the campus. You're not familiar with the people. Exactly. I don't want to say how Alabama works, but, you know, kind of. Yeah. How things work to an extent.
[00:20:21] Speaker B: Right.
[00:20:21] Speaker C: So they might be more reluctant to reach out because they don't know if other people are going through the things that they're going through. I mean, they're away from their parents, from their family for the first time ever.
[00:20:32] Speaker B: Right.
[00:20:32] Speaker C: If someone's having that feeling, they might be thinking, oh, this is. This is college. This is how I'm supposed to feel.
[00:20:38] Speaker B: No. Yeah.
[00:20:39] Speaker C: So that's why I think freshman year is hard. So this training is most important to the freshmen.
And, you know, it is hard to reach out to people.
[00:20:48] Speaker B: Sure, sure. Was it. Was it difficult for you as a freshman, or did you find the same kind of experience.
[00:20:55] Speaker C: Not necessarily difficult but, you know, it was completely new to me.
[00:20:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:20:59] Speaker C: I didn't know I could have talked to within my own house about if I ever had an issue.
[00:21:05] Speaker B: Right.
[00:21:05] Speaker C: So it was always my roommates felt struggling. If I was stressed with school, it felt stress was anything, and it would be my roommates. It wouldn't be someone in my house, because those people are going through exactly what Edward just said. Exactly what I was doing.
[00:21:20] Speaker B: Yes, sir. So really reaching out to those kind of close to you, kind of in your immediate circle. I know you've, you know, started this initiative as one that, at least for now, is. Is involving the Greek community that's both IFC and Panhellenic. And is that also including, like, UGC and PHC as well, or. Not yet.
[00:21:43] Speaker C: Not yet. Okay. Once again, the training's open to anyone, but the outreach is still limited. IFC and penal limit.
[00:21:51] Speaker B: Gotcha.
[00:21:51] Speaker C: Yes, sir.
[00:21:52] Speaker B: Gotcha. What would you say then, if, you know, in terms of the. The. Are the struggles or are the issues related to mental health in the Greek community, might they be different or not as different as students who are not in the Greek community?
[00:22:10] Speaker C: I would say they're somewhat similar. There are differences. But, I mean, we're all students, too.
[00:22:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:22:15] Speaker C: Everyone. Everyone said this table is in Greek life, we're all students. We all go through the same things that students do can be stressed with school.
But there is, I would say, a stigma within many fraternities that, you know, you're supposed to be a man's man. You shouldn't have these issues.
So reaching out, then it could be even more harder to someone because no one wants to speak up on mental health issues.
[00:22:40] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:22:40] Speaker C: Especially not people our age, without a doubt.
[00:22:42] Speaker B: Sure. No, we've, you know, we've talked about this notion both last season and continue this season about the challenges in seeking out for help and what. What mental health means for college men. If you could. If you could maybe summarize or talk through some of the.
Some of the ways that. That college men can best overcome that stigma or best move past some of the stereotypes or again, the stigma that. That that surrounds mental health and. And help seeking, what would you say?
[00:23:27] Speaker C: I've always viewed mental health as a big aspect to your health. You can't have a healthy body if you aren't mentally in the right place, and you can't have a healthy body if you aren't physically in the right place. So you go to the doctor when you're sick. But a lot of people are reluctant to go to a counselor. When they're having mental issues. I view it as the exact same if you're going through something and it is causing you day to day problems.
So I think you should seek help for it. But I mean, there is that stigma that you shouldn't because once again, we're men, we have to be the man's man, macho man. But breaking through that once again is peers.
[00:24:07] Speaker B: Right?
[00:24:08] Speaker C: Is the people right around you. I mean, you might not go to a counselor like you'd go to a doctor, but you would talk to a friend.
[00:24:18] Speaker B: That's such an important message, I think in terms of breaking through, especially with.
[00:24:23] Speaker D: You know, what we're trying to do on this podcast that is spread awareness. This is something that, you know, I feel like in the past few years has gained a lot of response and look at, you know, we're looking at it more.
But you know, those freshmen coming in, they're still trying to fit in. They don't want to get help. Well, I think it just needs to be made more aware that this is a real problem. This is not good for you.
You do need help because, I mean, I hate to say it, but you do.
And I think that's why it's so important that we just need to keep spreading awareness and making especially incoming freshmen known about these issues and stuff like that.
[00:25:04] Speaker B: Right.
[00:25:05] Speaker E: And I think like to go along with all of that, like Michael talks about like the, the be a man like aspect of it and even like, and to add to that, I think a lot of like the stigma around colleges to be independent.
And that's a good point. Obviously that is in direct and we are like, we're, we're independent in the sense of like we're discovering adulthood and all these things, but we are not, you know, we're still doing life with other people.
And to be independent is not to go to one's peers. So again, to your, your point, like it's it, you know, there's the stigma around how we think we're supposed to act versus what is like best for us.
[00:25:49] Speaker C: And I've always viewed independency as not complete relying on yourself, not complete self reliance, but properly relying on other people.
[00:26:00] Speaker B: So that's good.
[00:26:02] Speaker C: You can still be independent and still use other people. It's just, you know, how much you use them and if you're using them. Right. So use your peers.
[00:26:09] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:26:09] Speaker C: As you should.
[00:26:10] Speaker B: Sure. It's not, it's not being dependent on them, but really reliance and not versus dependence.
[00:26:17] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:26:18] Speaker B: It makes sense to me.
So in Terms of. In terms of the response that you've gotten from those who've signed up, Michael, what's been their reaction to being a part of this initiative?
[00:26:30] Speaker C: People found the training last year very beneficial.
[00:26:33] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:26:33] Speaker C: With the blue button. And, you know, I think.
I don't have. I don't have necessarily a regret for it, but I do think I do wish we had the QPR training last year because that's just all the more beneficial. So, I mean, people love the blue button training. They love knowing about the resources, and it's very helpful for anyone that needs to know about it. But I think this training this year will be much better.
[00:26:58] Speaker B: Great. Great. And then in terms of. In terms of, like, steps, next steps for the future, what do you. What do you foresee for the future?
[00:27:08] Speaker C: I plan on really only having one big training session per semester.
[00:27:14] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:27:14] Speaker C: Because there is. I mean, there's motives for people to come to the training. You get a Greek point or a CWE point, and if you do that more than once a semester, I think it would dwindle the amount of people showing up to it.
[00:27:27] Speaker B: Right.
[00:27:27] Speaker C: So for the future, I mean, stick with one per. Per semester. Maybe do smaller ones through f or SGA if they need it.
And, I mean, when I'm out of college, I hope to pass this down and someone below me does even better with it.
[00:27:43] Speaker B: Sounds great.
[00:27:43] Speaker D: Yeah. That's awesome. I hope it keeps rolling. That'll be it for segment two. We'll be back to wrap up with the outro. This is the Bama Balance.
[00:28:07] Speaker C: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa.
[00:28:10] Speaker A: This show is not a substitute for professional counseling, and no relationship is created between the show hosts or guests and any listener. If you feel you are in need of professional mental health and are a UA student, we encourage you to contact the UA Counseling center at 348383.
If you are not a UA student, please contact your respective counties crisis service hotline or their local mental health agency or insurance company. If it is an emergency situation, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
[00:28:52] Speaker B: And we're back.
This has been a fantastic discussion to have with you, Michael. I hope you've enjoyed your time here.
[00:29:00] Speaker C: It's been great. Thank you for having me.
[00:29:02] Speaker B: No, it's. It's been absolutely fantastic to learn more about your grief, your Greek Mental Health Ambassadors program, and.
And kind of where it's generated from some of the things that.
That you're doing now to get folks involved. And I was curious about, you know, as you look back on it. And, and really, it's been, what, the last year and a half or so?
[00:29:23] Speaker C: Yes, sir.
[00:29:23] Speaker B: So what. What do you think has been the most rewarding part of the experience? So for you so far?
[00:29:29] Speaker C: Is definitely. When I sit down and I think about it, all of this has a butterfly effect to it. The training is going to train one person. Even if it clicks with one person, that person helps someone that's. That's a life saved. And it's very nice to think about that, that this is actually doing a true good on this campus. So when I hear about other people at different schools, like, struggling with something like this, that I just think back. This is training people. This is setting up people to have the right state of mind.
[00:30:02] Speaker B: And what would you say have been sort of the challenges or the.
The things that you might want to do over again?
[00:30:14] Speaker C: I would say outreach on my end has been somewhat harder in organization because I'm not great with my organizational skills by any means or my. Or my outreach skills. So having people help me out with that. So like I said earlier, having Jenny Paige and having Hayden has been beyond helpful. I mean, they have connections with all those people, so it's. It takes off a lot of my shoulders. And then trying to keep up with everything that's going on with it, it's been a challenge. But I wouldn't change anything if I go back.
[00:30:44] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:30:45] Speaker C: Without a doubt. I've enjoyed every bit of it.
[00:30:47] Speaker B: Gosh, I can't believe this is your junior year and so next year will be your senior year. Is that right?
[00:30:55] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:30:55] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:30:55] Speaker C: I like that. Makes me feel so old.
[00:30:58] Speaker B: Well, I guess what I was going to say is 10 years from now, where would you like to see this program?
[00:31:05] Speaker C: I would like to see it out of Alabama.
Still within the school. Yeah, like out of Alabama, but more.
[00:31:11] Speaker E: Yeah, more.
[00:31:12] Speaker C: I would like to see it out of the Greek system within the next four years. Hopefully. This is all just off the top of my head, but yeah. And then from there, I would love to see it at the rest of the SEC schools.
[00:31:24] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:31:25] Speaker C: And then everyone implementing their own way of it. Not just one strict form, but.
[00:31:30] Speaker B: Right.
[00:31:30] Speaker C: Yeah. Each school.
[00:31:31] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:31:32] Speaker C: Sculpting it exactly to how their students need it.
[00:31:34] Speaker B: So kind of customizing it based on their campus.
That'd be kind of fun.
[00:31:39] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:31:40] Speaker D: That's awesome. I've seen a lot of companies and, you know, ideas that people have reached out to different universities recently, and I think that's big. One for one, for just, you know, you wanting that to be the Future of this thing that you've started. But two also that that itself spread so much awareness. So I commend you for, you know, creating this and sticking with it. And I think it's awesome.
[00:32:05] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:32:05] Speaker B: Yeah, no, it's been. It's been fantastic. Michael, I know that you've got some.
Some training coming up. If. If there are folks who wanted to get involved in it, how would they best get involved?
[00:32:18] Speaker C: Just show up, okay? Just show up and you get trained. And you will know how to talk to someone if they need the help, and you will know where to send them if they need the help.
[00:32:27] Speaker E: Where's the training?
[00:32:28] Speaker C: The training is at the student center theater. So it's across from the Chick Fil? A. That's always the best way to describe it.
[00:32:35] Speaker B: Across the Chick Fil?
[00:32:36] Speaker C: A. Chick Fil? A. It is October 8th, so it's in a week by the time this comes out. And it's from 6 to 8pm that sounds wonderful. So if you're free, then anyone listening, please show up.
[00:32:47] Speaker B: Just come on by. Yeah, come on by. Michael, this has been fantastic. Thank you for being with us today.
[00:32:52] Speaker C: Thank you all. It's been great.
[00:32:54] Speaker B: Yeah, no, we really appreciate it. We've learned a lot. And you know what I love is again, that one of the things I love about our campus is that students aspire to do great things and really aspire to serve other students in the best way possible. And so thank you for that. I really appreciate it.
And so with that, we come to the close of another episode.
Gosh, Brooks. Edward. I guess maybe when we listen to this, we will have already known the.
[00:33:24] Speaker C: Result of the closure.
[00:33:25] Speaker B: I'm sorry. Closure. Yeah, we'll have closure, but. But till then, it's been. It's been great to share this another episode with you all.
Again, this is the bam of balance. I'm Dr. Tweety Perez. I'm Brooks Barbary.
[00:33:38] Speaker E: I'm Edward Fountain.
[00:33:39] Speaker C: I'm Michael Dobbs.
[00:33:40] Speaker B: And we'll see you all later. Take care.
[00:38:30] Speaker C: Wvuafm, Tuscaloosa.
[00:38:32] Speaker A: This show was not intended as a substitute for professional counseling. Further, the views, opinions and conclusions expressed by the show hosts or their guests are their own and not necessarily those of the University of Alabama, its officers or trustees. Any views, opinions, or conclusions shared on the show do not create a relationship between the host or any guest and any listener. And such a relationship should never be inferred. If you feel you are in need of professional mental health and are a UA student, please contact the UA Counseling center at 348-3863. If you are not a UA student, please contact your respective counties crisis service hotline or their local mental health agency or insurance company. If it is an emergency situation, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
