Join me in supporting college students' mental health.

Although my giving page is no longer active, you can still donate. If you would like to provide any additional support, please do so here.

Hi there! My name is Kate Gomez, and I am a fourth year from Upper Arlington, Ohio. I am pursuing my Bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Science with minors in Leadership Studies and Business. I am passionate about the reasons why people become who they are, the various ways in which humans connect with one another and how we can make our society a better place for all individuals. 

My journey of involvements at Ohio State began the first week of my freshman year when I got a job as a student assistant in the Office of Student Life’s Department of Development. I got a glimpse into the many opportunities that Ohio State has to offer to its students, and I quickly fell in love with the Ohio Union. It was in this building that I realized I had a greater potential than I ever thought possible for myself. During my sophomore year, I became a Fellow in the Buckeye Leadership Fellows Program and served as the Chapter President of my sorority, Pi Beta Phi. It was throughout this year that I saw more personal growth and development than ever before. This newfound drive for success and constant hustle created moments in which I felt like I could tackle the world. Ohio State had given me the tools to achieve great things. However, it was also in this year that my mental health began to struggle. Incredible opportunities were shadowed by feelings of uncertainty, comparison and judgement, anxiety, and depression. Like the saying goes, “With great power comes great responsibility”, but I also quickly learned that great responsibility is a heavy burden for a 20-year-old. To help me through this battle with my mental health, I decided to see a therapist. Being able to talk through the highs and the lows of my life with a licensed professional was game-changing. I was able to process my past and present growth, discover effective coping and self-care strategies and do what was best for me, my organizations, and my family and friends. Once I felt in control of my own well-being again, I continued to explore more opportunities through Ohio State. I worked as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant for a Human Development and Family Science course titled, “Helping Skills”. I also serve as an undergraduate representative on the university’s Task Force on Community Safety and Well-Being. 

Aside from my own battle, it has been found that college students’ mental health has seen vast increases in negative impacts since the pandemic. Research is being done that shows stress, anxiety, and depression rates are up amongst college students across the world due to social isolation, living relocations, new learning environments and many more side-effects from the pandemic, as well as a general increase in social media usage across our society. A study done by the University of Utah and the University of Vermont concluded that “students who were enrolled in a campus wellness program were less affected by COVID in terms of internalizing symptoms and attention problems than those who were not in the wellness program.” 

I have seen the ways in which therapy has tremendously benefitted me and I want more students to be given the same access. Ohio State gives us the tools to be successful—one of these tools being Ohio State’s Health and Wellness programs, which oversees the Counseling and Consultation Services. It is for these reasons that I am choosing to fundraise for the University Health and Wellness Fund. Information on their programs can be found at wellness.osu.edu. Please help me in giving to the University Health and Wellness programs and sharing this page with friends and family. A little bit goes a long way in bringing light to a life that feels dark.