Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is set to speak in the Archie M. Griffin Ballroom on Thursday. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day will give a speech on mental health followed by a Q&A in the Archie M. Griffin Ballroom at the Ohio Union Thursday.
Led by Wellness Advocacy — a student organization focused on promoting mental and physical wellness — the free event will highlight the wellness resources Ohio State offers and shed light on Day’s personal experiences in order to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health.
Caroline Stollar, president of Wellness Advocacy and a fourth-year in public affairs and strategic communication, said Day will discuss how he defines resilience.
“He is also going to talk about how he cultivated a support system and how that can benefit him,” Stollar said. “I think that is also really important as college students, having friends or family or however that might look for you.”
Peer Educators, the Undergraduate Student Government, the Ohio Union Activities Board and Block O also collaborated with Wellness Advocacy for this event, according to the event’s website.
Emma Schueler, vice president of event planning for Wellness Advocacy and a fourth-year in economics, said seeing someone like Day discuss mental health is beneficial to students because it shows them that everyone struggles.
“I think that having a talk regarding mental health and just emotional well-being from such a high figure that people idolize, especially here at Ohio State, someone like coach Day, it kind of really breaks those barriers and says, ‘OK, well if he’s saying that he does all this focus on his mental health, then I can do that too,’” Schueler said.
This isn’t the first time Day has addressed mental health resources. Day in April 2022 gave a keynote speech on his mental health experiences. He and his wife, Nina, also made a $1 million donation to The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine in August 2022 to promote mental health resources.
Audrey Strohmeyer, a third-year in human development and family sciences and member of Peer Educators — a mental health and wellness organization for student-athletes — said this event is important because it provides student-athletes with tangible tools and resources for their mental health.
“All students have a busy life, but just the student-athlete life is a little bit different in terms of how we work about our days,” Strohmeyer said. “I think that it’s important to showcase how the resources here at Ohio State are used for what we do.”
Strohmeyer said student-athletes can submit questions specific to their experiences for the Q&A portion of the event.
“There’s a bunch of tabling opportunities as well as the student-athlete support services tables that’s going to be there,” Strohmeyer said.
Stollar said students can submit questions for Day when they register for the event online. Tickets can be reserved until the day of the event.
“Conversations can make a difference and creating this space for students to realize this is normal is really great,” Stollar said.
Doors open at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, and attendees must have a valid BuckID to enter. Registration is available at go.osu.edu/MentalHealthTalk.
