Story of Self: Why I Am Called to Lead

by Sarah, SHIFT Fellow at Denver South High School

I was born early with my twin brother and live with disabilities caused by a chromosome microdeletion. From kindergarten through eighth grade, I had an IEP, and now I have a 504 plan in high school. I have also been diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety, and depression. Because of these experiences, I have seen our education system from a perspective that many people never have.

Growing up, I often felt like I was treated differently because I needed extra support. In elementary school, I was regularly pulled out of class for services. While those services were meant to help me, they often made me feel separated from everyone else. I missed lessons, returned to class confused about what I had missed, and felt like everyone was watching me. Instead of feeling included, I felt isolated. Those moments affected not only my learning but also my confidence, my mental health, and my ability to feel like I truly belonged.

As I got older, the challenges changed. In middle school, especially after COVID, my anxiety and depression became much harder to manage. Home life was difficult, and I felt enormous pressure to be perfect at school. Mental health resources existed, but asking for help felt like admitting there was something wrong with me. Even though people said it was okay to ask for help, it didn’t always feel that way. I worried about being judged, missing class, or being seen as different. With only a few staff members available, support also felt difficult to access.

High school brought more opportunities to seek help, but I still struggled. I wanted support, but I didn’t always want to have a conversation. Sometimes I simply needed a safe place to breathe, eat something, regroup, and return to class ready to learn. I realized that support shouldn’t only exist for students in crisis. Every student deserves spaces where they can reset before reaching that point.

These experiences became turning points in my life. They taught me that students with disabilities, mental health challenges, or other support needs don’t want pity—we want belonging. We don’t want systems that separate us from our peers. We want schools that recognize our humanity, preserve our dignity, and provide support in ways that make us feel included instead of different.

That is why I am called to this work. I want to help create schools where students don’t have to choose between getting the support they need and feeling like they belong. I want every student to know that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. I want adults to understand that sometimes the best support isn’t another meeting or another conversation—it might simply be a welcoming place to rest, recharge, and know that someone cares.

My story is only one story, but I know I am not alone. There are thousands of students who have felt invisible, embarrassed, or left behind because of the way our systems are designed. I lead because I believe those systems can change. I want every student to experience a school where they are seen, heard, supported, and where they truly belong. If my experiences can help build that future for someone else, then every challenge I have faced has a purpose.

Story of Self: Why I Am Called to Lead

By Jack, SHIFT Fellow at Thomas Jefferson High School

My name is Jack. I am an older brother, a son, a nephew, and a grandson. Long before I understood what advocacy meant, I was surrounded by people who showed me what it looked like to care for others.

Mental health has never been an abstract issue in my life. It has always had a face.

My aunt is a clinical therapist who has dedicated her career to helping people heal. She has fought to make mental health support more equitable and even wrote a book encouraging people to embrace their authentic selves and choose individuation. Watching her taught me that mental health is about more than treating problems—it’s about helping people become who they were created to be.

My best friend’s mom runs Third Way, a drug rehabilitation and mental health treatment center in Denver. One Christmas, I volunteered there wrapping presents for children whose families otherwise might not have had gifts to give. That experience opened my eyes. I realized that behind every statistic is a real family, a real child, and a real story. Mental health challenges don’t only affect individuals—they affect entire communities.

My mom has also shaped who I am. Through her volunteer work and the example she set every day, she taught me that if you care about something, you don’t stand on the sidelines—you step forward. She showed me that leadership isn’t about having a title. It’s about choosing to serve and using your voice when it matters.

Growing up surrounded by these examples taught me a simple but powerful lesson: when people have access to the support they need, lives change. When they don’t, entire communities feel the impact.

Those experiences are why I care so deeply about ensuring every student has access to mental health resources. Too many young people struggle in silence because support is limited, difficult to access, or stretched too thin. Students shouldn’t have to compete with one another to receive the help they need.

That is why I am called to this work.

I want others to understand that investing in student mental health is not simply about responding to crises. It is about creating schools where every student has the opportunity to thrive before they reach a breaking point. It is about building communities where asking for help is normal, support is accessible, and no student feels forgotten.

I share my story because I want others to see what I have been fortunate enough to witness throughout my life: caring adults can change lives. Therapists, volunteers, community leaders, and families all have a role to play in creating healthier communities.

Those examples inspired me to move beyond simply caring about mental health to advocating for it. They taught me that leadership begins when we take responsibility for improving the lives of others.

I hope others will join me because every student deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed with the support they need. When we invest in student well-being, we are investing in the future of our entire community.

Story of Self: Why I Am Called to Lead

By Gavi, SHIFT Fellow at Denver East High School

Growing up, I moved all around Colorado. My mom is a CEO, and my dad is an artist, so I spent a lot of time at events with adults. As a kid, I was often the youngest person there. I remember feeling bored, alone, and overwhelmed. Without really thinking about it, I would always find my way to the bathroom. It became my safe place. I could close the stall door, take a deep breath, and have a few quiet moments to myself before going back out into the world.

I didn’t realize then that I was already searching for something that every person needs—a place where I felt safe, calm, and in control.

In eighth grade, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Suddenly, learning how to manage my emotions became part of my everyday life. My thoughts would race, my breathing would become shaky, and sometimes it felt like I was losing touch with everything around me.

When I started high school, I made it only one week before experiencing my first panic attack at school. Just like I had done for years, I went straight to the bathroom. I locked myself in a stall and texted my mom because I didn’t know what else to do.

My mom was worried. She knew I saw the bathroom as my safe place, but she also knew it wasn’t actually safe. She had heard too many stories of students being hurt or assaulted in school bathrooms. She encouraged me to go to the counseling office instead, but that felt impossible. The thought of walking through crowded hallways with swollen eyes and shaking hands, hoping a counselor would even be available, was overwhelming. So I stayed in the bathroom until my mom came to pick me up.

That experience changed everything.

My mom arranged a meeting with my school counselor, who introduced me to something I had never known existed—a wellness room.

When I walked inside, I immediately felt the difference. The lights were soft. There were comfortable couches, blankets, books, games, and even places where students could rest. The adults greeted me with kindness and explained that this was a space where students could simply pause, breathe, and regroup before returning to class.

For the first time, I realized that support doesn’t always have to look like talking. Sometimes support looks like having permission to exist in a space where you feel safe.

Throughout that year, I used the wellness room many times. It wasn’t always open, and it wasn’t always exactly what I needed, but it gave me something far better than a bathroom stall. Instead of sitting on a cold tile floor trying to hide my tears while texting my mom through blurry vision, I had a place where I could regain control of my emotions and return to learning.

That experience showed me what is possible when schools are designed with students’ well-being in mind.

That is why I am called to lead this work.

I know what it feels like to believe your only safe place is a bathroom stall. I also know what it feels like when one caring adult and one thoughtfully designed space can completely change your school experience. Those two realities have shaped who I am.

I want others to understand that wellness spaces are not a luxury—they are a necessity. Every student deserves somewhere to go before a crisis becomes an emergency. Every student deserves to feel safe enough to ask for help without shame or fear. Every student deserves to know they belong.

I share my story because I know there are countless students quietly sitting in bathroom stalls today, believing they have nowhere else to go. If my story helps even one person realize that schools can be designed differently, then it is worth telling.

I lead because I believe no student should have to choose between surviving the school day and succeeding in it. Together, we can build schools where students don’t hide when they are struggling—they know exactly where to go, who will welcome them, and that they will be met with dignity, compassion, and hope.

Story of Self: Why I Am Called to Lead

By Valerie, Student at Denver Northfield High School

My name is Valerie, and I believe our community has the opportunity to invest in the resources students need not just to succeed academically, but to thrive.

I was diagnosed with anxiety when I was about eight years old. For much of my childhood, anxiety was something I learned to live with. But when I entered my freshman year of high school, everything changed. The transition to a new school, combined with the stress of my class schedule, caused my panic attacks to become more frequent and more severe. There were days when I felt like my anxiety was controlling my life instead of me controlling it.

What made the difference wasn’t that my anxiety disappeared. It was that someone showed up for me.

My freshman counselor became someone I could trust. When I felt a panic attack coming on during the school day, I knew exactly where I could go. I didn’t have to figure everything out on my own or pretend I was okay. I had an office where I felt safe and an adult who understood what I was experiencing without judging me.

That support changed more than my school experience—it changed the way I saw myself. Instead of hiding my anxiety or feeling ashamed of it, I learned that asking for help is a strength. My school consistently communicated that mental health matters and that taking care of it is part of being a successful student. Because of that culture of support, I learned how to work through my anxiety instead of trying to ignore it.

By the end of the school year, something remarkable had changed. I no longer felt controlled by my anxiety. I felt capable. I felt supported. I felt hopeful.

That experience is why I am called to this work.

I know firsthand what it feels like when one trusted adult and one supportive environment can change the course of a student’s life. I also know that not every student has access to those relationships or those resources. Too many young people are still trying to navigate anxiety, depression, and overwhelming stress without knowing where to turn.

I share my story because I want others to understand that investing in student mental health isn’t simply about responding to crises. It’s about creating schools where every student knows there is someone who will listen, somewhere they can go, and a community that believes they matter.

The values that move me are compassion, belonging, and hope. I believe every student deserves to feel safe enough to ask for help and supported enough to keep moving forward. My experience taught me that when schools prioritize mental health, students don’t just survive—they grow, learn, and discover what they are capable of becoming.

That is why I invite others to join me. Together, we can create schools where every student has access to the support they need, where no one has to struggle alone, and where every young person has the opportunity to thrive.

Story of Self: Why I Am Called to Lead

By Abby, SHIFT Fellow at Denver South High School

My name is Abby. Like many students, I have experienced challenges with my mental health, but for a long time, I believed those struggles were something I had to face alone.

During my sophomore year, my anxiety became overwhelming. I didn’t have a trusted relationship with my academic or mental health counselor at school, and even if I had, I knew how stretched they were. With hundreds of students assigned to each counselor, it often felt like there simply wasn’t enough time or capacity for every student who needed support.

Instead of asking for help, I convinced myself that I needed to handle everything on my own. I didn’t want my parents to worry about me, so I kept my struggles hidden. I spent more and more time isolating myself in my bedroom or, after I turned sixteen, sitting alone in my car. My anxiety became so overwhelming that I coped by harming myself.

Then one night changed everything.

After dance practice, I sat in my car outside my house, crying. I didn’t know what to do or how to ask for help. My mom came outside and found me. Looking back, I know that moment may have changed the direction of my life.

Because she found me, I was able to begin receiving therapy outside of school. For the first time, I had the support I needed to understand my anxiety, develop healthier ways to cope, and begin healing. In just about a year, therapy transformed my mental health and gave me hope that life could be different.

That experience also opened my eyes to something much bigger than my own story.

I was fortunate. I had a parent who noticed something was wrong. I had access to therapy. I had the financial resources to receive care outside of school.

Not every student has those opportunities.

Many students rely entirely on the support available in their schools. If school counseling services are difficult to access, under-resourced, or unknown to students, many young people are left to struggle in silence, just as I did. For some students, school is the only place where help is possible.

That realization is why I am called to this work.

I want others to understand that mental health support should never depend on a family’s income, insurance, or ability to find outside care. Every student deserves access to trusted adults, timely support, and spaces where they can ask for help before reaching a crisis.

I share my story because I know there are students sitting alone in their bedrooms, in their cars, or in the back of classrooms, believing they have to carry their pain by themselves. I want them to know they are not alone, and I want the adults making decisions about our schools to understand what is at stake.

The values that move me are compassion, equity, and hope. I believe every student deserves the opportunity to heal, grow, and succeed regardless of their circumstances. My own journey taught me that one moment of connection and access to the right support can change a life.

That is why I choose to lead. I want to help build schools where mental health resources are visible, accessible, adequately staffed, and free from stigma—so that every student has the opportunity not just to survive high school, but to truly thrive.