Student joins forces with staff member to support young people’s mental health
A GCU student is helping support others through a collaborative project and their role as a student mentor.
Applied Psychology student Murin Currie was recently involved in designing an interactive activity looking at supporting young people’s mental health with Dr Pia Faeth.
Murin’s impressive approach allowed participants to choose an emotion and gave them access to a coping mechanism to help deal with any issues they’re facing.
This is the third time he has been approached by GCU Engagement’s Susan Grant to team up with a researcher at the University, having previously designed a Citizen Science activity for Professor Seb Chastin and a Risk Management activity for Dr Josephine Adekola.
Third year student Murin described the importance of discussing mental health and his passion for helping others.
He said: “Two things I’ve always had a huge passion for are art and empathy - I’ve always wanted to help other people.
I also love animation and cartoons, so any way I could incorporate that into a job was ideal for. The Mental Health in Young People project really combines everything I want to do.”
He added: “I think it’s quite noticeable how bad things have got with mental health in young people but I think sometimes they don’t actually register that they are struggling and maybe make a joke out of it.
For me, It’s really important to let other knows that it’s ok to feel that way and try to look at ways of helping them understand how they are feeling.”
Murin passion for supporting others also shines through in his work as a student mentor. He explained what led to him getting involved and how he would encourage others at GCU to take up the opportunity.
Murin said: “I went to a seminar with student mentors and I remember them talking about the job and I was thinking that it just sounded too good to be true! It was exactly what I wanted to do and thought it looked really good.
It’s been a pleasure to educate young people about university but also on simple things - like the experience of moving out. It’s really nice to just have a job where you can help people and have fun.”
He added: “There are so many shifts available that fit around class times, so don’t worry if you’re busy with your course.
It’s definitely something to go for if you enjoy working with other people – it’s also a really good networking opportunity and looks great on your CV.”
You can find out more about becoming a student mentor here
By Ross Clark
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter