“It is important to really bring everyone together to talk about these issues and raise awareness. By having so many faculty and staff and student groups working the event, it showed how a student has many resources on campus to go to if they want to talk or need help. It shows how many people on campus are in support of student health.”
-college student who attended Fresh Check Day

After each Fresh Check Day event, students who attended are given a survey in order to capture the event’s overall effectiveness and to inform us of areas that could use improvement. An overwhelming majority of students have said that Fresh Check Day increased their comfort in discussing emotional/mental health issues with friends, family and/or faculty/staff and nearly all respondents said they would attend Fresh Check Day again if it was offered at their school.

When asked what messages they took away from Fresh Check Day, here is what students had to say:

“I learned that it is so important to check in on everyone. Everyone is fighting a battle and it is so important that they know that people are there for them. This made me realize that I am not alone, and there is always help.”

“To be most basic: not everyone is happy, we hold responsibility to change that.”

“That I wasn’t alone in the community and that my mental health was important to the university.”

“It’s important to check in with yourself and your friends/peers. It doesn’t take much effort and it could save someone’s life.”

“That mental health is just as important as grades or physical health, and while it’s something really over looked it truly is important.”

“That people care that I stay alive. This event was really great for me. Thank you.”

“I had to attend this speaker for my political science class and I felt surprised to connect with the speaker and actually find myself interested in what he had to say. I learned a lot about mental illness and was definitely moved by his story. I now feel more comfortable discussing mental health and now realize that depression can strike any normal person.”

“Fresh Check Day was filled with everything I needed, from dogs and sunshine to massages and burgers. The event was not only much needed for me personally, but it was set up so nicely and it grabbed my attention.”

“The lesser known facts were great for all about suicide prevention, depression, etc. The event helped me take an hour break from studying to enjoy everything that it had to offer.”